In 1787, Haydn referred to the progress of this set of quartets in letters to his publisher, Artaria. Conscious of his growing reputation, perhaps, and aware of the extraordinary richness of the six quartets Mozart had recently dedicated to him, he did not rush to complete the set, taking about a month over each work (a long time by 18th-century standards). The finished quartets reflect this care; their style is remarkably concentrated, with each idea fully developed. It’s not music for performers to just sit back and enjoy and The Lindsays respond aptly to Haydn’s creative energy with a powerful vitality of their own. The magnificent first movement of the Sixth Quartet, its D major brilliance shot through with dark shadows, is played with clear, strong tone and a robust rhythmic character that does full justice to the music’s grandeur.

Haydn is renowned for his wit, but in the more ser- ious movements, (the opening Allegros of Nos 2, 4 and 6, and the unsettling fugue that concludes No 4) wit takes the form of superbly timed dramatic strokes, and here, too, The Lindsays know how to give the right degree of emphasis – to the wonderful unison A sharp that signals the turn from minor to major near the end of No 4’s first movement, for example.

Excellent whenever force and energy are required, one might wish in places that the quartet could sound more friendly and graceful. The outer movements of No 5 might, to advantage, have been rather more laid-back, with fewer, less fierce accents. In the minuets, the slurs, often extending over a whole bar, would sound more elegant if played in the correct 18th-century manner, with a gradual lessening of the tone. And, in music whose structure is often highly unexpected, it would be helpful to have the high point of each phrase more decisively brought out – in the minuet of No 1, for instance. But The Lindsays do take us to the heart of these extraordinary works.

Haydn was the master of the finale, and the performances of these movements are especially successful. In the unique final Allegro con spirito of No 6 the playing highlights the colourful effect of the alternation of open strings and stopped notes. You may have heard quartet playing that’s more suave, but for vivid contrast, vitality and commitment, this is hard to beat.