For your consideration

In late 2021, SLSQ came together in studio to record the first two works in a long-planned survey of the late string quartets (Op. 76) by Joseph Haydn. Now upon release in 2023, it is clear that this recording of the “Emperor” and “Sunrise” quartets is a culmination in several key respects. The music itself represents Haydn’s utter mastery of the string quartet genre, and these performances represent the final chapter in a celebrated life in music—that of founding first violinist Geoff Nuttall (1965-2022), who had recently received a terminal cancer diagnosis when these performances were captured. The document is a snapshot of a remarkable moment in time. The SLSQ—and Nuttall specifically—performs at the peak of its technical, expressive and communicative powers, with a lifetime of quartet experience undergirding a fresh and no-holds-barred emotional approach to these masterworks.

SLSQ long association with the music of Haydn is legendary. As The New Yorker aptly put it, “no other North American quartet plays the music of Haydn with more intelligence, expressivity, and force.” Their groundbreaking release in 2019 of the complete Opus 20, the first great masterpieces of the genre, released on streaming, CD, and limited edition audiophile-grade triple vinyl LP, are now coveted collector’s items.

As Mozart said of Haydn, “he can amuse and shock, arouse laughter and deep emotion as no-one else.” Listen and be swept away by the genius of Haydn. Explore impossibly beautiful emotional worlds made real before your ears. Hear democracy in action, where every passing moment might make you laugh or cry. For your listening pleasure, in which the distilled essence of string quartet playing is on vibrant, technicolor display, and for your Grammy consideration: Joseph Haydn String Quartets Op. 76, Emperor & Sunrise, performed by the St Lawrence String Quartet.

Trailer for SLSQ’s episode on Haydn’s Emperor Quartet as part of GREAT PERFORMANCES: Now Hear This