String Quartet... | Cuarteto Casals - Mozart - Early

Mozart's very first quartet, featuring a prominent Rondeau finale.

report on Mozart's Early String Quartets (Harmonia Mundi) is a comprehensive recording project that captures the composer's formative years in the genre, specifically works written between 1770 and 1773. Album Overview Release Date: October 27, 2005. Label: Harmonia Mundi (Catalogue No. HMI 987060.62).

A clear, bright tone with minimal use of vibrato to avoid over-romanticizing the early classical style. Cuarteto Casals - Mozart - Early String Quartet...

Reviewers from Gramophone praised the quartet's ability to adapt their style to the teenage Mozart, highlighting the "unusual musical insight" and lack of sentimentality.

Critics at Classics Today were much harsher, describing the approach as having "clunky phrasing" and "minimal vibrato" that made for a "real chore" to hear, particularly in the D minor quartet K. 173. Track Highlights Notable Features Quartet No. 1 in G, K. 80 Mozart's very first quartet, featuring a prominent Rondeau

The 3-CD set includes all 13 of Mozart's "early" quartets (K. 80, K. 155–160, and K. 168–173), along with the three "Salzburg" Divertimenti (K. 136–138). Runtime: Approximately 228 minutes. Performance Style

Notably fast Andantes and finales that often "tear away" at top speed. Label: Harmonia Mundi (Catalogue No

Often called the "Salzburg Symphonies," these are performed with a focus on lightness and agility. Mozart: Early QuartetsCuarteto Casals - Classics Today