"Lark" Quartet (No.67 In D, Op.64 No.5) / "Bird" Quartet (No.39 In C, Op.33 No.3) / Quartet No.10 In E Flat, D.87

Released in 1971 on the His Master's Voice label, this recording features the Smetana Quartet performing two of Joseph Haydn's best-known string quartets—the Lark and the Bird—alongside Franz Schubert's Quartet No. 10. The Smetana Quartet, founded in Prague in 1945, established an international reputation for their hallmark style of playing entirely from memory, which allowed for a unique level of musical cohesion and eye contact between the players. This recording captured the ensemble during their prime, reflecting the rich, refined technical precision that defined their approach to the classical repertoire.

The album is a quintessential example of the high-fidelity classical releases produced by EMI/HMV during the early 1970s. The choice of pairing Haydn's wit and structural clarity with the lyrical, early-Romantic warmth of Schubert's D. 87 offered listeners a balanced program of chamber music staples. The Smetana Quartet's interpretations on this disc were widely praised by critics of the era for their elegance and rhythmic vitality, cementing the recording as a significant contribution to the discography of string quartet literature during the late twentieth century.