Haydn String Quartet Op. 20, No. 5 in F Minor: The perfect music to de-stress and relax to.
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- Опубліковано 2 чер 2024
- It's been a tough day and you're looking for a piece of music to listen to that will help you de-stress but is not muzac or over simplistic. In 1772, Joseph Haydn wrote just the piece! In this video lecture, I talk about the work and Haydn, and compare six different performances, ranging from 1932 to almost the present day.
Video chapters:
00:00 - Trailer & Introduction
02:27 - Joseph Haydn, his life and works - a rags to riches story
07:27 - Overview of my six chosen recordings and ensembles
13:31 - 1st. Movement - Allegro Moderato
29:22 - 2nd. Movement - Minuet (Menuetto)
35:48 - 3rd. Movement - Adagio
44:03 - 4th. Movement: Finale Fuga 2 soggetti (2 subjects)
Links to the recordings on Spotify:
Dudok Quartet Amsterdam:
open.spotify.com/album/0ocsqj...
Emerson String Quartet:
open.spotify.com/album/16r1qF...
The Lindsays:
open.spotify.com/album/59fD4A...
Pro Arte String Quartet:
open.spotify.com/album/01XHlc...
Chiaroscuro Quartet:
open.spotify.com/album/2W0HnX...
Jerusalem Quartet:
open.spotify.com/album/5syTms...
If you would like to discover more about Pearl Acoustics, who we are, what we do and our Sibelius loudspeakers and amplifiers, please visit our website at: www.pearlacoustics.com
or email us with your questions: enquiries@pearlacoustics.com
Social media links:
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/ pearl.acoustics
I love these comparisons! Your Schubert piano sonata was wonderful, and so is this. Please do more of them.
That’s great to hear. I will do my best 😉. Any requests?
I am really enjoying these comparisons Harley, thank you. After listening to your channel I often go and compare them with my own collection. How about Schubert's Piano Quintet in A major, Op.114 "The Trout". @@PearlAcoustics
@@nigelmasters8552 oooh, nice suggestion! It’s a great work! Do you know ‘The shepherd on a rock’ it was the very last piece he ever wrote… check out a version with Margaret Price 😉
I don't but I will check.@@PearlAcoustics
Beautiful choices, and interesting comparisons. I would nominate Beethoven's Seventh Symphony as the next piece to receive this analysis, and search for comparative merits between different performances. Thank you!
Great suggestion! I read your comment, just before going to bed last night. And the famous theme kept running through my head! I sometimes wonder which of the nine I like best, and excluding 1 and 2, I always end up choosing the last one I heard! However, if there ever was a true mark of genius - surely it has to be the simplicity of 7? I will definitely cover it one day. Thanks for your kind remarks. H
I watched your video and now am listening - I prefer the sound of the Dudok Quartet, I like the sound of original instruments, like this is the way Haydn and his audience heard this piece when it was fresh from the pen. The sound of the Pro Arte is haunting. These artists, no longer with us, leave a living legacy of art and expression, timeless as they make the bows and strings sing. They are having a conversation with us now, through Haydn, smiling at us through the ages, we have been what you are going through now, we have lived, we have loved, you are going to be ok, we are waiting here for you.
Thank you kindly for your touching contribution to the community
I'm an infrequent and unsophisticated listener of classical music. You've just opened a new world of musical enjoyment for me - thank you. Hope you'll do more of these videos.
Hi, thank you very much for your feedback, very kind. You can find quite a few other similar videos from me… ranging from Beethoven to Radiohead, Bob Marley, Vivaldi, Sibelius, Mimes Davis and Stevie Wonders and Ravel… so a mix of classical, pop, jazz and Rock… Dark Side of the Moon and Daft Punk… tell me what your favourite might be…. Best wishes
Love these! Please keep going!❤
Thank you! Will do!
THANKS HARLEY🤗,WE LOVE ❤️ RELAXING MUSIC 🎶…THAT DRAWS YOU IN 💚💚💚
Thank you 🤗
Excellent, these comparison videos are fascinating. Thanks for putting them together so well.
Thank you very much, I really appreciate that you took the time to comment. I have a great partner in Ajay in London, who edits them all together. It allows me to focus on the content. There are many more in my head, it’s just finding rhetorical energy to commit them to video 😉
This is wonderful music. Thanks Harley.
You’re very welcome! Thanks for watching and commenting
These videos are a gift. Thank you Harley
You’re very welcome. I am glad you enjoy them.
Harley never disappoints!
Thanks. 🙏
Thank you for this.
My pleasure!
The magic of mono.....
indeed Harvey !
The further away from the orchestra the more the experience becomes similar to mono , a more complete visual/audible picture of the bouquet of ( musical ) flowers .......the mix and blend of all the color of tones and strings ........but the more you approach the more what audiodphiles believe is what HIFI ...should sound alike ! ( today)
Distance is full of the sounds of live..........closer is the bee into the flower .......the wonder is when you see it as a whole from the right distance and you focus in ( blow up ) you will also see the bee.....
Thank you for sharing.
Just one note ......the bow wiping and tones of the wooden instruments loses some of their natural organic texture ............when the world digitalizes our reality .....
Thanks for your comment and appreciation and for your contribution to the topic. Enjoy the music!
Thanks for the introduction to Haydn and this piece of work. I know very little about classical growing up on independent, rock and electronic music. This gives me some learning and appreciation of my ever-growing diverse taste in music. 🙏
You’re very welcome indeed. Thanks for your comment. Indeed, you’re moving into a whole new world of discovery. You’ll so much coming back from rock and electronic music. Try Bach’s Brandenberg concerto No. 5 and the amazing harpsichord solo - that’s straight out of ELP or YES or so many others including jazz. In fact, I have just decided, I will do that one next. 😉
Great. You brought a non-judgmental analysis. Different interpretations that enrich the work even more. I believe that Quatuor Mosaiques has found the balance that I like best.
Thanks! And thanks too for the tip, I will check that recording out
Thank you for this, love your channel, so educational but at the same time so enjoyable. I love Hi-fi and music but know very little classical, your insights are a delight, please continue to do more 👍
You’re very welcome. Thank you for taking the time to comment
Good morning Harley. What a superb video you made here. The different emphasis’, pauses and tones from the different rooms (the smaller halls sound nicer to my ears) were very noticeable. I think the first version (Dudok?) was most enjoyable but they were all beautiful. I hear similar pauses in a version I have of Mozart’s piano concerto #21. Great stuff😎🎵🎶
Thank you, you’re very kind! Mozart is next!
This channel is god gifted for me. I've been listening to western classical music since 20 years without any background and training. It's almost intuitive, I've also used some pieces in my films. But listening to you my listening is expanding and i'm discovering many new pieces and performers. Add to that my appreciation would also be enhanced. thank you.
Thank you. That’s very nice to hear. So glad you appreciate them.
Love this format, you are great at this! Looking forward to more episodes! I own the Quartetto Esterhazy recording on vinyl (Telefunken) comes close to the Chiaroscuro’s.
Thanks, you’re very kind! I don’t know that version, I will have to dig it out. Thanks for the tip.
What are those speakers you have? They look familiar but I can not place them. I am enjoying this channel.
Thanks for your positive feedback, it’s very welcome. The loudspeakers are the ‘Sibelius’ loudspeakers from Pearl Acoustics. I designed them, quite a few years ago now if you go to our website, or reach out to us via email, you can find out more…
Just love these videos so very much...truly enjoyable. Certainly this work will be queued up for my next listening session. I only have the Kodaly Quartet to refer to. That may change if it does not measure up to the great Quartets sampled here.
Thank you for your kind message. Let us know how you hit on and which was your favourite… (it’s ok to have more than one)! Moods alter and different interpretations can work better on different days
What a treat once again, really enjoyed this one. The 1930s mono recording has a beauty and presence that modern recordings just cannot capture, noise and all. This is a time period before transistors where all electronics was vacuum tube based including recording studios. This has a profound effect on the sound and the warmth, compared to modern clinical recordings.
I was also impressed with the 432 tuning, it really makes a huge difference, everything sounds richer and more relaxing to the ear.
One last thing, that bare wall above the system is crying out for a minimalist piece of abstract art ;)
So glad you enjoyed the Haydn. Thank you for taking the time to comment and share your views on the topic. Good luck finding the right piece of art to hang in your listening room. Until the next one, enjoy the music
@@PearlAcoustics Haha, I'm an artist myself, so had to mention the art, but yes indeed we all have our own preferences, your room is impeccable as it is.
Im not sure why, but i seem to just play instrumental music these days. It could be Jazz, electronic and classical. I have just discovered ruyichi sakamoto, his music is sublime, especially the soundtrack of The Revenant. On vinyl !
Thanks for the tip!
That's another great in depth review thank's so much. I prefer the Chiaroscuro Quartet version, which I will now purchase.
Thank you, your comment is much appreciated. Good choice!
Great talk as always. Interesting timing for me as last month I went through all the Haydn symphonies and this month I was going to look and see what was new in recordings of the string quartets. I have the Quatour Mosaiques on the Astree label and have always loved their micro-dynamic vitality. Not really familiar with any of the performers you profile (well Emersons of course, for the Bartok Quartets), and one would almost have to pick favorites by individual movement. I can say that the only one I don't care for is the Chiaroscuro group, the hooting, moaning sound, and the swelling on sustained notes sounds that obscures the interplay of the other instruments. Anyway, much to enjoy from the others, and likely I will purchase the Jerusalem recording as a contrast to my Mosaiques. Thank you SO much!!
Thank you very much for your very kind comment, and thank you too for the wonderful contribution to the discussion. I deliberately chose ensembles who took a divergent view on the work, selecting the Jerusalem for a more conventional interpretation.
So glad you enjoyed it.
Listen to the dudok and the chiaroscuro on Spotify played through my TV sound bar on Bluetooth, as I don’t have any streaming facilities on my hi-fi I do prefer the dudok recording, but it’s only available on down load which is no good to me in my ideal world, it would be available on vinyl but the other one is available on CD so I might end up getting that one
Enjoy!
I found all but the 1932 Pro Arte recording on Qobuz. I have no training in music, yet I found that I slightly preferred each movement by one or two of the six over the others. I wonder if the software exists that will allow us to seamlessly stitch together the movements by each quartet that most pleases our individual preferences.
Hi thanks for your comment. The Pro Arte should be on Qobuz because I streamed them from there… that’s an interesting point. You can do it via making a play list in Qobuz.
I looked very thoroughly on Qobuz and I found one Pro Arte but it stated that it was from 1947. Is that the one? A later issue of the 1932 recording? I created a playlist of each of the recordings for later in depth listening but hadn't thought of creating a playlist of my preferences of each movement. Thanks. @@PearlAcoustics
I really enjoyed your video! The Chiaroscuro quartet got a diapason d or for their last offering of Haydn quartets. Knowing BIS they will do the complete quartets. In the same vein the Festeics quartet have the complete haydn quartets on Arcana. It is a more earthy but I love it. Thanks again!!!
Thank you! And thanks for the tip on the other versions.
Well Harley, as you see, I have been binge watching your productions, having just finished your Rega TT comparo (and the Marley just before). Now, taking in your eye and ear opener Haydn 'master class' on performance and recording technique. Very relaxing on this winter afternoon WITH a glass of red vino here.
Listening to your speakers via something you may be familiar from back in the day.
A Bang and Olufsen 6500 series system from 1990 and a restored pair of SuperScope S-212 2-ways with a big 12"woofer/midrange 2" cone tweeter built in 1972!, a warm sound indeed. Looking forward to more enjoyment from your channel!, it's all a stress reliever (O: Thank YOU!
Thanks Gary, what a lovely message! I am so glad you enjoy them. Your system sounds very impressive, I wonder how it would sound played back through my Sibelius loudspeakers?! 😀 best wishes
@@PearlAcoustics Harley, you are very welcome. On 'impressive', well, you are too kind, it is just a nice - restored little system in the livingroom. A fun project to take on, and to hear what such gear from over 30 AND 50 years ago sounded like when new in those days. Especially today, among such a great variety of wonderful equipment we have now, including YOUR Sibelius pair ((O: i have not heard them personally outside of my reviewer's subscriptions which show they are quite the achievers! Best to you sir. More to come I am sure.
@@garysmith8455 thank you Gary. Indeed very interesting exercise. You are always welcome in one of our listening rooms. I am based in Belgium 😉
@@PearlAcoustics Hello again Harley. I wrote you a long answer here, but guess I never sent it. I believe I have stuck my foot in your door and poked around the Pearl Acoustics website. Perhaps I'll meet you there next? Enjoy the day 🙂.
@@garysmith8455 enjoy your day to! Until we meet, wherever, whenever, enjoy the music!
Hi, hope you’re well. I’ve been looking back through your videos. To see if you did one on. Mike Oldfield tubular bells. especially with it being at 50th anniversary last year I first hear this when my older sister bought it 50 years ago when I was eight years old and was very intrigued by it it would be really great if you could do a video on it as I would love to know your opinion and how you analyse it thank you so much
Hi, thanks for your comment. Indeed, that LP had a massive impact when it first came out, and was a very big commercial success for both Oldfield and the label.
Your comparisons between different performances of one piece are very interesting.
You forgot to mention "Die Schöpfung", in my opinion the greatest composition of haydn. Maybe you can make such a video on this subject also ?
I also would like to hear you talking about "Die Winterreise" from Schubert, if you are interested in "Lied".
Thank you very much for your kind appreciation. Thanks too for your great suggestions!
H
As a relatively new subscriber I'm uncertain which works that you have reviewed in the past. As a humble request, I hope that you might consider compare recordings of that most enigmatic Symphony: The Great C Major Symphony of Franz Schubert. Best wishes.
Hi, indeed a master work… I will certainly add it to the list… but I warn you, my current list is very long. 😉 enjoy the music, H. PS which is your favourite version?
@@PearlAcoustics The 1951 Wilhelm Furtwangler Berlin Philharmonic. The George Szell 1957 Cleveland Orchestra is a very close second choice.
@@michaelstearnes1526 thanks!
Okay, I *guess* it's more relaxing than AC/DC turned up to 11.
😉. The strange thing to me is that, when I want to relax (or de-stress) my brain needs a kind of diversion… so a little concentration for the first movement but then by the third, it’s total chill)! You should try it - trust me! 😀 Whatever music you choose, thanks for watching
May I recommend pic st loup red wine 😊from languedoc Roussillon
You certainly may! 🍷 😋
The pronunciation is ChiaRoscuro, you have to pronounce the R, it's very strong.😊
Thanks!
@@PearlAcoustics You're welcome. I love your contents
A few things :
Joseph Haydn worked for Esterhazy for over 28 years (1762 through 1790) not ‘18 years’; when he was booted out of the Kapelle of St Stephens in Vienna it was not as much for his terrible pranks on his fellow students but simply at the age of 17 his lovely soprano-canto voice had finally broken-
And when Haydn originally joined the choir at the age of 6 (1738) Johann Joseph Fux was still very much alive and was able (despite his chronic & often severe gout) to meet with the boy singing prodigy when he coach’d ‘the new boys’ in the art of choral singing with an emphasis on sight-singing & vocal blending techniques …
At 17 when he was dismissed, he wasn’t exactly ‘thrown into the street’ but was given lodgings at one of the largest apartment buildings in Vienna where the opera composer Niccola Porpora lived as well as Domenico Trapassi (aka ‘Metastasio’) - all in the same building -
So what did the teenage Haydn do? He procured a copy of Fux’ Gradus ad Parnassum (1725, in Latin) and in 6 months had ‘completed all the exercises from start to finish’ making notes in the margins of printer’s errors as well as his own comments & corrections (these ‘corrections’) were thankfully copied letter for letter by a student of his C.F. Pohl after 1809 - as Haydn’s original hand-footnoted copy was destroyed by American aerial bombs in 1943..
Long story short, although Haydn had to live on bread & cheese for nearly a year, once he shewed Porpora his contrapuntal exercises from Fux’ book, he was taken on as a pupil of opera composition - with Metastasio himself living down the hall-so Haydn wasn’t exactly cast unto the streets -however he still had to play violin & harpsichord in pubs & in the houses of minor nobility ‘for a pittance barely allowing me to eat’ - but by the end of the 1750s was hired as kapellmeister to the Morizin family (1758-1762) when he wrote his first 12 sinfonias - then being taken on by the Esterhazy family as kapellmeister with his own orchestra & chorus with which he was given a free reign - working from 1 March through 30 November ev’ry year (Carnival season months of December-Jan-February were ‘paid vacation’ ev’ry year) -
There is so much more to the great Haydn’s story (his younger brother Michael moved in 1763 to Salzburg to work for then Archbishop Schrattenbach and knew the Mozart family well) - but Haydn himself did not meet Mozart himself in person until a sinfonia concert in December of 1781 when he was first exposed to the Sinfonia in B-flat K. 319 from 1779 (listed as no. 33 in the old catalogues, but no. 53 in the revised updated ones) which greatly impressed him by its mastery of form, subtle elan & ineffable musicality…
Thanks for your excellent contribution to the topic. Lots of really useful and interesting additional information. Indeed, I do later mention that Haydn stayed working for the Esterhazys, albeit, not on a full time basis, even after he purchased his house in Vienna…
Any friend of Motzart is a friend of mine 😊
😀👍
Thanks for the video. Can't say i like any of these all that much other than the Pro Arte who plays with a beautiful legato throughout. The period instrument performance shown is ghastly, just cold and shrill and humorless. Might I suggest the Festetics Quartet who plays with a fuller tone. For period instrumental influenced but on modern instruments hard to beat the Buchberger Quartet.
Thank you for your appreciation, and thanks too for your two suggestions of alternatives. I will dig them out today first my morning coffee listening.
What can you say about the Emerson? The fugue just takes off like a rocket. Yes they are the modern day gold standard.
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