The six quartets that Mozart dedicated to Haydn are among his finest, which is saying something, and after he had let the older composer hear these two and the E flat major Quartet, K428, he proudly reported the fact to his father and also sent him the scores. The Cleveland Quartet bring an urbanity to the G major Quartet which I find a touch contrived (for example in the many tiny tonal swells); it is arguably appropriate to such consciously civilized music but, to my mind, any prettification dates it. But the playing as such is admirably polished and sophisticated, and these fine artists do not overlook the tensions that occur, say, in the development of the first movement, while the subtle chromaticism, dynamics and cross-accents of the curiously gawky minuet are managed with skill. I find much to enjoy also in the richly textured slow movement (here, the third) and in the wonderful bustle of the contrapuntal finale. The recording is on the reverberant side, but detail is clear enough.
The D minor Quartet is the only one of the Haydn set that is in a minor key and predictably it has its 'storm and stress' content. It was written when Constanze Mozart was in labour with the birth of her first child and long afterwards she used to tell people how certain passages in it ''represented her cries of distress''. Rightly, the Cleveland do not underplay the music, but instead of passionately projecting it they aim for pathos and a certain kind of heaviness (perhaps 'weariness' better conveys what I mean) that is if anything emphasized, rather than contradicted, by the moments of rococo convention that occur towards the ends of sections. I found this approach convincing and touching, and since the other movements are also played with skill and sensitivity (though the Andante is briskish), this is a satisfying performance.'