Hagen Quartet
Myrios · MYR017 · 59 minutes
The Hagen Quartet plays these two Haydn-dedicated masterpieces with a warmth and flexibility that feels almost orchestral — their vibrato shifts and tonal colours keep the music breathing in a way that’s genuinely alive. K458, the “Hunt,” gets that buoyant opening horn-call energy without ever tipping into bluster, while K387 simmers with a real sense of discovery. If you’ve grown up on leaner, period-informed readings, this is a different conversation — and a deeply rewarding one.
Awards:
- BBC Music Magazine — April 2016 — Chamber Choice
“these players bring an astonishing variety of vibrato, nuance and colour. These are, indeed, distinctly Romanic readings that could have more doctrinaire authenticists tut-tutting.”
— BBC Music Magazine, April 2016
Jerusalem Quartet
Harmonia Mundi · HMC902076 · 75 minutes
The Jerusalem Quartet brings something genuinely special to these three Mozart quartets — a warmth and conversational ease that makes the counterpoint in K157 feel like four friends finishing each other’s sentences rather than musicians executing a score. Their tempos never feel imposed; everything breathes at exactly the right pace, and the individual lines sing with real personality without ever crowding each other out. It’s the kind of Mozart playing that reminds you just how much wit and emotional depth is packed into these relatively early works.
Awards:
- BBC Music Magazine — April 2011 — Chamber Choice
- BBC Music Magazine Awards — 2012 — Chamber Award Winner
“Tempos [in K157] are admirably judged and the interaction between each individual line sounds totally natural…The Jerusalem Quartet’s approach, balancing full-blooded tone with exemplary contrapuntal…”
— BBC Music Magazine, April 2011,5 out of 5 stars
Schumann Quartett
ARS Produktion · ARS38156 · 69 minutes
What a wildly ambitious programme to build a debut around — Mozart, Ives, and Verdi sharing a single disc is the kind of curatorial boldness that either falls apart or reveals something genuinely fresh about all three composers. The Schumann Quartett leans into that contrast hard, using sharp articulation and dramatic dynamic swings to make each composer’s personality snap into focus rather than blurring them into polite chamber music. That Gramophone gave them serious attention straight out of the gate, and a BBC Music Magazine Newcomer Award followed, tells you this isn’t a group playing it safe.
Awards:
- BBC Music Magazine Awards — 2016 — Newcomer Award
“The Schumann Quartet…bring a distinctive style to this varied programme. Their bold, forthright manner puts emphasis on clear articulation and strong dynamic contrasts…The Schumann’s highly…”
— Gramophone Magazine, March 2015
Leipzig String Quartet
MDG · MDG3071035 · 65 minutes
The two quartets here sit at a fascinating hinge point in Mozart’s chamber output — No. 14 in G major opens the celebrated “Haydn” set with a kind of conversational ease that sounds effortless until you realize how precisely every voice has to balance for the whole thing to breathe. The Leipzig String Quartet gets that balance exactly right, keeping the interplay light and nimble without letting the music feel throwaway. There’s a warmth in their sound that suits Mozart’s particular brand of sunshine-with-shadows beautifully.
Awards:
- Penguin Guide — Rosette
Armida Quartett
Avi Music · AVI8553205 · 62 minutes
Mozart’s late string quartets carry this peculiar mix of elegance and unease, and the Armida Quartett leans right into that tension rather than smoothing it away. Their corporate intonation in the B flat and E flat Quartets is genuinely striking — those aren’t easy keys for a string ensemble to inhabit with such lightness and bloom. Two Opus Klassik wins in 2022 says plenty, but honestly the playing speaks first.
Awards:
- Opus Klassik — 2022 — Winner – Chamber Music
- Opus Klassik — 2022 — Winner – Classical Without Borders
“In the B flat and E flat Quartets – not always the most comfortable of keys for string ensembles – the Armida’s sparkling corporate intonation and textural litheness prove especially beguiling…Most…”
— BBC Music Magazine, March 2022,5 out of 5 stars
Armida Quartett
Avi Music · AVI8553032 · 1 hour 55 minutes
Mozart’s late string quartets occupy this fascinating space where everything sounds effortless on the surface but conceals an almost architectural complexity underneath, and the Armida Quartett seem to understand that tension instinctively. Their playing here balances the kind of delicate shading you’d expect from an ensemble steeped in period sensibility with a freshness that makes every phrase feel newly considered rather than inherited.
Awards:
- BBC Music Magazine — March 2021 — Instrumental Choice
“A triumph, both musically and technically. Encapsulating the best of all worlds, the Armida play with the exquisite nuancing of the finest old-school outfits, yet with a take-nothing-for-granted…”
— BBC Music Magazine, March 2021,5 out of 5 stars
