NAXOS Complete String Quartets, The (Kodaly Quartet) [24cd]

Quatuor Kodaly Review ''Naxos is lucky to have such a polished, beautifully balanced group as the Kodàly Quartet to record Haydn.'' --Gramophone BARGAIN OF THE MONTH. We reviewers are extremely fortunate as we have good reason to listen more closely than we might otherwise do to the music we write about and this process has been a wonderfully enriching one. The music is uniformly excellent and at Naxos s bargain price makes possessing these superb works affordable. To make this collection even more desirable the playing is superlative, allowing the music to shine as befits the status that the quartets have achieved. Recorded between 1989 and 2000, the Kodály Quartet (which has seen three of its members change during those years), plays with a shared intelligence that makes for thrilling listening and the most rewarding musical experience. It is impossible to put into words how highly I think of this set but suffice it to say that nothing could persuade me to live without it. --Music Web International