I very much enjoyed this Mozart release from the Hagen Quartet. It could be a special performance – I say “could” because I wanted to keep listening to it and thinking about it. My two “go-to” recordings of Mozart’s “Prussian’’ Quartets from the Alban Berg Quartet and the Peterson Quartet are both excellent. This Hagen version may be better than either.The Hagen give this Mozart a gentle, lyrical stamp. It’s an unexpected take, but I was surprised by how well it works. The second of the “Prussian” Quartets (k. 589, from 1790) illustrates the soft-hued interpretation. The end of the opening Allegro is almost atmospheric. The entire movement is taken a mellow tempo, not one that drags but gently passes, and the coda is also sweet rather than aggressive. Mozart marked the coda to be played at the dynamic of piano but no one in my experience has taken this instruction as literally as the Hagen. They avoid any sense of display in the runs traded between the individual instruments and make sure to keep the texture light, in keeping with the writing being for two or three instruments at a time rather than all four. Even the Trio of K. 589’s Minuet, one of the more assertive sections of this piece, is underplayed. The Hagen approach contrasts very clearly with the Alban Berg Quartet’s more energetic and even muscular interpretation or the Peterson’s more cerebral and poised one. The third “Prussian” (k. 590) which rounds of the Hagen disc is given a wonderful performance, probably the best one I’ve heard, again with a sweet, lyrical flavor. Written for King Friedrich Wilhlem of Prussia, a gifted amateur cellist, the “Prussian” Quartets as a result includes some very prominent melodic writing for the cello part. So it’s worth mentioning that the cellist here, Clemens Hagen, does very well.As nice a find as the two “Prussian” Quartets were, the most intriguing discovery for me was the playing of the standalone “Hoffmeister” Quartet (k. 499, from 1786). I know this piece from the Alban Berg Quartet recording on EMI which, unlike their superb version of the “Prussian” Quartets, has always left me cold. The Hagen brings much more to it, with a rendition similar to what I describe above. The end of the K. 499’s opening Allegro is delicate and whisper soft. So you don’t think the Hagen are always sweet, the B section of the Minuet builds solidly into intensity and the polyphonic writing in the finale is brought out with a wonderful sense of pace and interplay. This is one of these performances that made me re-think a piece I’d previously viewed without a lot of interest. Very well done.The recording is quite good, with fine detail and a suitable level of nuance. This is an excellent recording that I warmly recommend. The Hagens have lived up to their high reputation here with what is an original and very successful interpretation of some very familiar and very beautiful Mozart.