Hagen Quartett - Mozart Quintet for Clarinet and Strings, Beethoven String Quartet No. 16 (2009) DVD9

Writing in 29:4 about the Hagen’s fine CD accounts of Beethoven Quartets Nos. 12 and 15, I noted two salient features of its approach: a sonority that in its freedom from lushness and excessive vibrato echoes (without duplicating) “period” sonority; and a style suggestive of how the music is far closer to the composer’s middle period than we often think. In a similar vein, this is a tough, aggressive No. 16, yet one tempered by delicacy where apt and projected with sensitivity to the music’s pointed humor—a performance style that one probably was not likely to encounter 50 years ago. And fine though the Beethoven is, the Mozart may be even better, as commanding and sensitive account of the work as I have ever heard. For one thing, Sabine Meyer is superb, a true virtuoso who is capable of rendering the music’s gentler moments with a tender delicacy that is as arresting as her rapidly articulated runs in which every note is given its clearly articulated due.

Tracklist:

01 - Opening - Generique debut
02 - Ludwig van Beethoven String Quartet No. 16 in F Major, op.135, I. Allegretto
03 - Ludwig van Beethoven String Quartet No. 16 in F Major, op.135, II. Vivace
04 - Ludwig van Beethoven String Quartet No. 16 in F Major, op.135, III Lento assai, cantante e tranquillo
05 - Ludwig van Beethoven String Quartet No. 16 in F Major, op.135, IV. Grave ma no troppo tratto - Allegro
06 - Credits - Generique fin
07 - Opening
08 - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Quintet for Clarinet and String Quartet in A Major K.581, I. Allegro
09 - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Quintet for Clarinet and String Quartet in A Major K.581, II. Larghetto
10 - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Quintet for Clarinet and String Quartet in A Major K.581, III. Menuetto - Trio - Trio II
11 - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Quintet for Clarinet and String Quartet in A Major K.581, IV. Allegretto con Variazioni
12 - Carl Maria von Weber Quintet for Clarinet and String Quartet in B Flat Major, Op.34, III. Menuetto. Capriccio Presto - Trio
13 - Credits

Performers

Sabine Meyer - Clarinet
Hagen Quartett:
Lukas Hagen - Violin I
Rainer Schmidt - Violin II
Veronika Hagen - Viola
Clemens Hagen - Violoncello