The art of good conversation: an engaging evening of Haydn with the Castalian Quartet

Haydn: Castalian Quartet ****

Wigmore Hall, 17th April 2018

We’ve all played the “dream dinner party guest list” game. I’d invite a witty raconteur like Victoria Coren-Mitchell or Stephen Fry to keep things lively; a dashing sporting hero, a glamorous soprano – no names! – and maybe a critic well into his anecdotage to spill scurrilous opera gossip. Everyone would make entertaining contributions, but nobody would hog the floor. Now apply that art of good conversation to string quartet writing and nobody – not even Mozart – does it better than Joseph Haydn.

Castalian String Quartet
© Kaupo Kikkas

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