Haydn's six string quartets Opus 76, written in 1796-97, were his final and in many ways his culminating contribution to the genre. To listen to the whole set in sequence, over two evenings, is to be confronted with his irrepressible inventiveness and ingenuity in this medium. The range of these resourceful 24 movements - from solemn to skittish, furious to frivolous - is one of chamber music's most rewarding achievements .
As always with Haydn, the works contain plenty of humour. Some is subtle and academic, some sociable and convivial, but it is always there in one form or another. If ever the old phrase about "wit and wisdom" applies to any set of quartets, it does to Haydn's Opus 76. So, if there was one occasional disappointment in the Hagen Quartet's performances, it was a somewhat strait-laced approach to Haydn's endless twists, turns and paradoxes.
That apart, the Hagens were not merely equal to the technical challenges that Haydn poses: a lot of this music is fast and very exposed. They were also memorably responsive to the great range of tones and colours that these works require - from the grand sweep and rustic interludes of the first, to the gossamer spareness of the closing bars of the famous imperial hymn in the third quartet, played once by the Hagens in its original context and then, even more beautifully, as an encore. The introspective largo of the fifth quartet in D major was especially probing.
The Hagens are an ensemble in which one player stands out. First violinist Lukas Hagen is a musician with a propensity for taking exciting risks; here, he fearlessly led the way into some challenging harmonic territory, especially in the driving D minor second quartet. It was a fascinating performance - a reminder of the experimental dimension of Haydn's late works, in particular these great quartets.