Haydn - String Quartet op. 33 nr. 3

From the minimalists to the classics. I picked an arbitrary Haydn quartet, op. 33 (the Russian quartets, from 1781), nr. 3, nicknamed ‘The Bird’. Despite it being in a radiant C major, it mixes light and shadow in a most affecting whole. The first movement, Allegro moderato, opens with this graceful theme with repeated notes lending it its birdlike quality. Despite the light-footedness and poise, there is something faintly bittersweet in the music. That is even more outspoken in the short Allegretto which strikes one as really pensive and wistful. And yet there is fiber and masculinity too. The slow movement is a genuine, probing conversation amongst friends. The Rondo-finale is short and boisterous with a whiff of à la zingarese. The Quatuor Mosaïques play the music with great feeling and authority. No pyrotechnics, no pumped-up expressiveness. Just plain, honest music-making. Beautiful recording too. Haydn never ceases to amaze.