All three quartets are in the usual fourmovement form but they contain many surprises: in No 1, the false recapitulation in the first movement, the dark modulations in the following sonata-form Allegretto and the Hungarian gipsy flavour (anticipated in the Minuet) and mischievousness of the final rondo. No 2 has a rhapsodic fiddler in its second movement, a nostalgic minuet with an extraordinarily anguished trio, and an Adagio finale in which a Presto section turns out to be no more than an episode.
A notable feature of No 3 is its ternary-form Largo cantabile, the centre of which is more like a mini-concerto for the first violin; 'Scotch snaps' pervade the Minuet, and pedal points the finale.
The performances and the recording are superb, marked by unanimity, fine tone, suppleness of phrasing, and acute dynamic shaping; in the second movement of No 1 there are hushed passages whose homogeneity and quality of sound are both quite remarkable. Overall, this recording is irresistible.