Leipziger Streichquartett - Haydn: String Quartets, Vol. 12 (2020)

The prolific Leipzig String Quartet completes Joseph Haydn's Opus 17 with the Quartets Nos. 2, 4, and 6 on what is now the twelfth volume of an extraordinary quartet cycle. Once again historically informed playing meets world-class quartet culture, and once again the Leipzig four demonstrate that Haydn's quartets were masterfully conceived from the very beginning and continue to deserve only the very best treatment. For their Haydn edition the members of the Leipzig String Quartet use bows from the period during which the works were composed. This is noticeable in the smooth tonal delineation and supple articulation that may be said to make these fine works speak and shine. BBC Music Magazine said of Volume 2: "...the Leipzig Quartet seems incapable of making an ugly sound...one is immediately transfixed by the elegance and poise of the phrasing, the exactitude of the intonation, the silvery sheen of the sound - enhanced by MDG's airy, yet perfectly focused recording."