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Quatuor Mosaïques has been around since 1988, and during that time they've moved to a postion of prominence among HIP musicians performing quartets from the Classic Era. Their hallmarks are a tight vibrato, very accurate tuning, and highly attentive interchanges between the voices. To this must be added their strong, powerful playing, most notably by their cellist. If not the very finest string players, they certainly must be one of the finest quartets using original strings and bows, sounding far more beautiful than previous similar quartets who stuck it out with early replica bows and used the old fashioned strings and pitches.
Here in Beethoven's first quartets the Quatuor Mosaïque's robust style fits the music like a glove. Beethoven already has advanced into more than just a Classical position, and his quartets, though clearly modeled after the dominating works in the genre of Haydn and Mozart, are filled with his own inner gusto and ebullient, protean swings of temper. If late Beethoven quartets are soul-searching, these early ones are life-affirming, filled with pananche and the growing confidence of a musical genius quite unafraid to match his skills against such towering talents as his two great Viennese predecessors. Beethoven by 1800 is a composer whose full creative range has not emerged, yet he's already accelerating down the hill, beginning to expand his musical horizons in the exponential way we know he will from our contemporary vantage point in history.
These two quartets from the set of six are one of three Cds, each available separately, but not, as yet, in a single offering, as are the Quatuor Mosaïque's various Haydn recordings, which sometimes can be purchased as one unit. Of these two performances I most enjoyed the C minor, it's a stunning traversal, and makes a great case for playing this music with the original instruments - anyway, when such instruments are handled with the aplomb and style of the Quatuor Mosaïque. Cellist Christopher Coin goes all out in the finale, the Allegretto - Prestissimo - I've rarely heard original instrument strings playing with such extra fire and passion avoid rough edges - a remarkable group!
An excellent choice - a certainly a must have for anyone who already has modern string quartets and wants to hear the best possible version in the original sound garb!
