String Quartets Vol 5: Op 59 No 2 'Razumovsky', Op 74 'Harp'

Ludwig van Beethoven's quartets followed in the direct lineage of Haydn and Mozart. From that background he developed this genre of music to the point where many consider it reached its peak of perfection. In the group of three quartets dedicated to Prince Razumovsky, Beethoven brought drama, strength and power to quartet writing, though in his later opus 74, he briefly returned to a more relaxed and charming style.

"As with previous entries in the Kodály Quartet's complete set of Beethoven's quartets, volume 5 does not disappoint. ... A very good choice."
- Repertoire (Laurent Campellone) - March, 2000

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Members of the Kodály Quartet have been students from the Ferenc Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest in 1966. After some changes among the members, the Quartet made out
its independent performing style based on the renowned Hungarian string quartet tradition.

The Quartet has toured in almost all European countries, the USA, Central and South America, Far East, Australia and New Zealand. In addition to the standard classical repertoire the Kodály Quartet regularly performs works written by Hungarian composers - Kodály, Bartók, Dohnányi and others - in its programme.

The Quartet has recorded the complete Haydn and Beethoven string quartets, the Debussy and Ravel string quartets, and recently they are working on the Schubert cycle for the Naxos label. In recognition of its achievements the Kodály Quartet has received the "Ferenc Liszt" Award (1970), "Merited Artist of the Hungarian Republic" (1990) and the "Bartók-Pasztory" Award (1996). The Quartet was given the Classic CD Magazine's Award for the best release of 1993 in the chamber music category (Haydn String Quartets Op.64).