Streichquartette = String Quartets = Quatuors À Cordes KV 156, KV 168, KV 173

Released in 1978 on the Telefunken label, this recording features the Quartetto Esterházy performing a selection of Mozart’s early string quartets from the Milanese and Viennese sets. The album arrived during a period of renewed interest in historically informed performance, as the ensemble sought to highlight the structural clarity and youthful exuberance of Mozart’s writing through period-appropriate phrasing and nuance.

The Quartetto Esterházy, known for their focus on the Classical repertoire, worked within the context of Telefunken’s 'Das Alte Werk' ethos, which prioritized acoustic authenticity and fidelity to original scores. Critics of the era frequently lauded these sessions for their balanced, transparent textures, noting that the group successfully moved away from the heavy-handed romanticism that had previously dominated Mozart quartet interpretations.