Russian
Chiaroscuro Quartet
After the release of the first three quartets from the Op. 33 set in May 2023 (11477684), a recording praised by critics for its "extraordinarily faithful interpretation that goes straight to the heart of the works" and which won numerous awards (including a Diapason d'Or, Choc from Classica and Supersonic from Pizzicato), the Chiaroscuro Quartet presents the last three quartets from this set. Having previously recorded op. 20 and op. 76, the ensemble continues here its historically informed and insightful journey through Joseph Haydn's string quartets, a long-term project that began in 2020. The unique sound has been described as "a shock to the ears of the best kind". These works, known as the 'Russian quartets' and dedicated to the Russian Grand Duke Paul, later Tsar Paul I, show Haydn in his most eccentric and non-conformist manner. For this collection, Haydn had the impression that he preferred to write music that better aligned with the lighter, more "popular", less "learned" taste of the public, with a livelier sense of rhythm. Compared to the preceding quartets, they are stylistically more advanced and form the birth of the classical quartet genre. Mozart drew inspiration from them for his own quartets "dedicated to Haydn"
