Haydn's 'Emperor' String Quartet in Building a Library with Laura Tunbridge and Andrew McGregor

Available for 29 days

Andrew McGregor with the best new classical releases. c2.10pm The pianist Natalie Burch joins Andrew to review the latest new releases that have caught her ear. 3pm Building a Library: musicologist and academic Laura Tunbridge joins Andrew to survey recordings of Haydn's "Emperor" String Quartet, Op.76 No.3, and make a top recommendation. Haydn dedicated the final half-a-dozen string quartets he composed, perhaps among his most ambitious, to the Hungarian count Joseph Georg von Erdődy. Written while still employed at the court of Prince Esterházy II, Haydn penned the third of the set - his so-called 'Emperor' quartet - around the same time as his oratorio 'The Creation', with some arguing he managed to distil the full force of his full compositional power and intense symphonic style into the resources of just four performers. Top choice: Quatuor Arod Erato 2173287521 c3.45pm Record of the Week: the new release that has most impressed Andrew this week.