With the opening chord of Haydn’s String Quartet in F Major Op. 77 No 2 – the composer’s final completed quartet, commissioned by Joseph Franz von Lobkowitz (who commissioned Beethoven’s first set in the genre) – the Takács Quartet brought bold energy and a vibrant earthy sound to City Recital Hall. With an organic sense of ensemble, the quartet injected loads of excitement into Haydn’s Allegro moderato first movement, revelling in a loose, friendly push-and-pull between the players – the kind of edge-of-the-seat freedom that only tends to come off with an ensemble that’s been playing together for a long time.

The group was founded in 1975 in Budapest and despite a relocation to Boulder, Colorado, and a few personnel changes (second violin Károly Schranz and cellist András Fejér are original members), the Quartet has been playing in its current line-up for more than ten years – and it shows.

Fejér’s cello was a low growl in the grittier moments of the first movement before bouncing forward to propel the rest of the ensemble in the second, the musicians snapping at each other’s heels. Fejér’s complex timbre was reflected in first violin Edward Dusinberre’s shimmering high register. The Andante flowed along pleasantly...