Peter Friedman

I like the "warmer' sound with a bit of vibrato that is often missing from period instruments. There is also (at times) a whining quality I hear from period instruments. Though I must admit, that a number of the more recent recordings i have heard by period instrument groups strike me as much better sounding than some earlier recordings. My impression is that some more recent Period Instrument quartets have moderated their approach a bit and incorporated a modest bit of vibrato and sound less whiney. At the same time a number of string quartets who do not identify as Period Instrument groups have also modified their playing to become more sensitive to some period instrument performance concepts.

Yes, the Haydn Box by the Schneider Quartet is very good. I am not generally a big fan of performances by groups using Period Instrument string quartets. However, having listened to so many many string quartet recordings by various groups using modern strings, I decided to give some of the Period Instrument groups a try. So am now turning my attention to Haydn Quartet recordings by these 3 groups. Festitics Quartet Buchberger Quartet London Haydn Quartet

Beethoven - Violin Sonatas No.2 and No.9 - Coop & Dawes

These are two of my favorite Ronnie Cuber recordings. The Xanadu is an early one with a greatr rhythm section. Infra-Rae is a much later album on a Dutch label. It will swing you into next week!