Recommendations: Beethoven String Quartets
Bruce Edelstein
string quartets. My first excursion to Tower Records enlightened
me to the fact that the music industry truly cares about offering
me a thorough selection. Great. Where do I start?
o Which quartets should I look for? Who's hot? Are there
'definitive' performances (opinions are encouraged)?
o Which labels are putting out exceptional recordings?
Thanks for your time.
______________________________________________________________________
Bruce Edelstein
"a cappella head"
e-mail: bruce_e...@hp5200.desk.hp.com
Phone: (916) 785-4585
Opinion: a belief not based on certainty but on what seems true
or probable
Quote: Incredible as it seems, my life is based on a true story.
-- Ashleigh Brilliant
______________________________________________________________________
Michael Wolverton
>I have a great interest in aquiring recordings of Beethoven's
>string quartets. My first excursion to Tower Records enlightened
>me to the fact that the music industry truly cares about offering
>me a thorough selection. Great. Where do I start?
I wrote a mini-review of some recordings of the late quartets on r.m.c
a few months ago. It's included below. Hope this helps.
-Michael
============================================================
I've been looking for a good recording of these quartets for a while
now, and recently I decided to borrow as many CDs as I could find to
do some comparative listening. The ones I got were:
The Vegh Quartet on Valois
The Alban Berg Quartet on EMI
The Lindsay Quartet on ASV
The Guarneri Quartet on BMG (mid-price)
The Emerson Quartet on DG (Op. 135 only)
Of these, my overall favorite was probably the Bergs. It sounds
like it was recorded in the world's largest bathroom, so it takes a
while for your ear to adjust to all the reverberation. Still, the
playing is very nice -- good tone, intonation, blend -- and the
interpretation was more or less right to my ear.
The Lindsay Quartet has a lot to recommend them too, e.g., their
playing at the end of the first movement of Op. 127 is wonderfully
sweet and sentimental. There are occasional lapses of intonation and
a few real clunkers in here, though, so I'd place this one safely
below the Bergs.
The Guarneri on RCA has the advantage of being mid-price (or a real
bargain if you get it through the BMG club), and of being on only 3
CDs (although that means they split one of the quartets across CDs).
They have their moments -- e.g., the fast movement of one of the
quartets (Op. 130? I can't remember) was really stunning -- but
overall the recorded sound is pretty dull, and their violist and
cellist are below par. I may end up buying this one because of the
price, but the quality of the recording is well below the above two
IMO.
I'd stay away from the Vegh Quartet. I will say this for them --
they know how (and when) to have fun with this music. However, their
intonation is really awful and the tone of all players (especially the
1st violin) is super-whiny and annoying.
The Emersons have the best recording of Op. 135 I heard. It may be
worthwhile to wait for them to release a complete cycle.
Overall, I'm not overwhelmed by any of the above, but I'd say that
the Berg Quartet recording is good and worth getting. One caveat:
some of what I said above (especially my feelings about the Emersons
and the Veghs) is exactly the opposite of what most critics would say,
so take these recommendations with a grain of salt.
-Michael
--
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Michael Wolverton "Is that clear?"
m...@cs.stanford.edu "No, but it's consistent!"
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Marc Andreessen
(Op 59 No 1/3, Op 18 No 4/5, Op 95, Op 132) that have come out so far.
The Lindsay late quartets on ASV are quite good. I'm sure the Berg
recordings on EMI are great (gotta pick those up sometime). I did
*not* like the Tokyo performances; there was no magic there (even
though Roger Lustig wrote the liner notes).
Where to start? The Rasumovsky quartets (Op 59) are necessities. The
late quartets are the pinnacle of Western art. All the rest are
required listening. What more can be said?
Marc
--
Marc Andreessen
Software Development Group
National Center for Supercomputing Applications
ma...@ncsa.uiuc.edu
Brad Pierce
>The
>late quartets are the pinnacle of Western art.
How does one compare a string quartet to a violin concerto?
How does one compare a string quartet to an organ symphony or an
opera?
How does one compare a string quartet to a sculpture, a painting,
a cathedral, a tapestry, a poem, a play, a novel, a motion picture,
a dress, a chair, or a ballet?
-- Brad Pierce -- 15/June/1993
Roger Lustig
Look, just because you slept through the lecture where they gave out the
formula doesn't mean you have to get all huffy! 8-)
Brad, it would seem, is indulging in what might be termed hyperbole.
Not only that, he isn't even saying things like "We all KNOW it, so
stop pretending otherwise."
As for your questions, we need only look at the position the various
things have been assigned within the context of Western art/culture
over the years, and how they have influenced artists and writers and
other thinkers. The last quartets have a unique position, that's
for sure; it has to do partly with the composer's biography, partly with
the reception of the works over the years, partly with the obsession
that later composers have had with them. They were seen as the pinnacle
of music (the greatest composer's greatest achievements) in the late
19th century, when there was a consensus regarding such things, and
when music was considered the greatest of the arts. Later, the Modernists
almost without exception paid homage to these pieces, and many considered
them a primary inspiration.
Few other works of art can make such claims; few other works of art have
such a mystique around them.
*Especially* organ symphonies. 8-)
Roger
Richard Korkosz
>I have a great interest in aquiring recordings of Beethoven's
>string quartets. My first excursion to Tower Records enlightened
>me to the fact that the music industry truly cares about offering
>me a thorough selection. Great. Where do I start?
> o Which quartets should I look for? Who's hot? Are there
> 'definitive' performances (opinions are encouraged)?
Don't know about 'definitive' performances, but I've always found the
Quartetto Italiano's performances on PHILIPS to be very fine. I generally
prefer QI's late and middle 4tet perfs. to others I've tried, for example the
Alban Berg's (though I like the Berg early 4tets pretty much).
As for where to start, Op. 18 No. 1 is probably as good a place as any. Then
you could see how Beethoven goes on from where Mozart and Haydn left off...
After that, Op. 59 No. 1 (1st Rasumovsky 4tet) might be good, and I've always
felt that Op. 135 (the last!) is a nice late 4tet to start with. No matter
what order you take, though, do be sure to listen to them ALL; they are all
wonderful.
ENJOY!!!
Rick Korkosz
shannon.csl.uiuc.edu
Univ. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Richard Korkosz
>The Borodin Quartet does wonderful things on the three Virgin discs
>(Op 59 No 1/3, Op 18 No 4/5, Op 95, Op 132) that have come out so far.
I heard the above Op. 59 No. 1 and thought the string sound was very
unnatural. While I did enjoy the performance, I still prefer the Quartetto
Italiano's rendition on PHILIPS. I can't comment on any of the other ones
above as I haven't heard them. I am a fan of the Borodin 4tet, though
(e.g. their Shostakovich cycle on EMI).
>The Lindsay late quartets on ASV are quite good. I'm sure the Berg
>recordings on EMI are great (gotta pick those up sometime). I did
>*not* like the Tokyo performances; there was no magic there (even
>though Roger Lustig wrote the liner notes).
Have you heard the Quartetto Italiano's perfs?
>Where to start? The Rasumovsky quartets (Op 59) are necessities. The
>late quartets are the pinnacle of Western art. All the rest are
>required listening. What more can be said?
Go to the record store and buy all 16 NOW!!! :-)
Rick Korkosz
kor...@shannon.csl.uiuc.edu
Brad Pierce
>In article <1993Jun16.0...@cs.ucla.edu> pie...@lanai.cs.ucla.edu (Brad Pierce) writes:
>>In article <MARCA.93J...@wintermute.ncsa.uiuc.edu> ma...@ncsa.uiuc.edu (Marc Andreessen) writes:
>>>The late quartets are the pinnacle of Western art.
<text omitted >
>>How does one compare a string quartet to a sculpture, a painting,
>>a cathedral, a tapestry, a poem, a play, a novel, a motion picture,
>>a dress, a chair, or a ballet?
< text omitted >
>Brad, it would seem, is indulging in what might be termed hyperbole.
Why does it seem that way to you? If anyone is a hyperbolist, it's
Mr. Andreessen.
-- Brad Pierce --
Terje Rydland
(Bruce Edelstein) wrote:
>
> I have a great interest in aquiring recordings of Beethoven's
> string quartets. My first excursion to Tower Records enlightened
> me to the fact that the music industry truly cares about offering
> me a thorough selection. Great. Where do I start?
>
> o Which quartets should I look for? Who's hot? Are there
> 'definitive' performances (opinions are encouraged)?
>
> o Which labels are putting out exceptional recordings?
>
>
>
> Thanks for your time.
We went throught this about a year ago. You will get lots
of suggestions, among others Quartetto Italiano and
Alban Berg Quartet. If you can live with fairly old
sound the Vegh Quartet is supposed to be very good
(on Valois I think).
My favourite is the Talich Quartet on Calliope. I
only have the op. 18 quartets, but I have heard some of the later
quartets played by them also. The op.18 quartets have a nerve and an
atmosphere that I have never heard in any other recording.
Definitely the one to have!
----------------------------------------------------------
Terje Rydland Tlf: +47 7 59 18 45
Dept. of Informatics, UNIT Fax: +47 7 59 17 33
Trondheim, Norway
Internet : ter...@ifi.unit.no AppleLink: NOR0103
----------------------------------------------------------
Marc Andreessen
>Brad, it would seem, is indulging in what might be termed hyperbole.
Why does it seem that way to you? If anyone is a hyperbolist, it's
Mr. Andreessen.
Not to speak for Roger, but I think he was referring to me. If we
were talking about anything else, I'd admit to hyperbolizing, but not
when it comes to the late Beethoven quartets.
Let's put it this way: because I can honestly and without deliberate
hyperbole say that I think the late Beethoven quartets are the
pinnacle of Western art, I therefore think the late Beethoven quartets
are the pinnacle of Western art.
There is no ballet, motion picture, concerto, poem, novel, etc. for
which that holds.
Good enough for me...
(Aren't you glad I'm not in a position of power now?)
Bart Gerritse
Just listeb to the quartets, then you will understand!
>-- Brad Pierce -- 15/June/1993
Bart Gerritse
gerr...@sci.kun.nl
Steve Apter
Clearly, comparison is only possible between a thing and itself.
Roger Lustig
>In article <1993Jun16.0...@Princeton.EDU> ro...@astro.princeton.edu (Roger Lustig) writes:
>>In article <1993Jun16.0...@cs.ucla.edu> pie...@lanai.cs.ucla.edu (Brad Pierce) writes:
>>>In article <MARCA.93J...@wintermute.ncsa.uiuc.edu> ma...@ncsa.uiuc.edu (Marc Andreessen) writes:
>>>>The late quartets are the pinnacle of Western art.
> <text omitted >
>>>How does one compare a string quartet to a sculpture, a painting,
>>>a cathedral, a tapestry, a poem, a play, a novel, a motion picture,
>>>a dress, a chair, or a ballet?
> < text omitted >
>>Brad, it would seem, is indulging in what might be termed hyperbole.
>Why does it seem that way to you? If anyone is a hyperbolist, it's
>Mr. Andreessen.
Oof. Got the attributions wrong. 40 lashes for me...
Roger
Francois Velde
>Clearly, comparison is only possible between a thing and itself.
Which can produce surprising results, as in the old joke. (Q: What
is the difference between a pigeon? A: None, it has both wings of
the same length---especially the left one.)
--
Francois Velde
Eric Schissel
first to be written, not op. 18 no. 1, .despite. the publishing order-
although the existence of an earlier version of op. 18 no. 1 (recently
recorded!) puts that in doubt- this confusing enough for you?
Enough. Listen to them all by hook or by crook, there are few better musical
experiences short of 16 hours straight of Bach cantatas.
-Eric Schissel
Roger Lustig
>Hrm- I thought modern scholarship believed that op. 18 no. 5 was the
>first to be written, not op. 18 no. 1, .despite. the publishing order-
>although the existence of an earlier version of op. 18 no. 1 (recently
>recorded!) puts that in doubt- this confusing enough for you?
Nope, it's No. 3 that came first. Order: 3-1-2-5-4-6. And we've known that
#3 came first for over a century. The first version of 18/1 came after 18/3.
>Enough. Listen to them all by hook or by crook, there are few better musical
>experiences short of 16 hours straight of Bach cantatas.
And you don't have to fumble with the words...
Roger
Brad Pierce
string quartets are greater art than "Los desastres de la guerre"
by Beethoven's contemporary, Francisco Goya?
-- Brad Pierce 16/June/1993
Brad Pierce
>Just listeb to the quartets, then you will understand!
You seem to be supposing here that I have studied every Western
work from every genre of art, except, of course, Beethoven's
string quartets.
By the way, how would you respond to Josh Stern's comments below:
--------------------- OLD POSTING -------------------------------
From: jo...@aris.ss.uci.edu (Josh Stern)
Subject: Re: Best since 1950 (Was: Who's greater th
Message-ID: <2BF38E8...@news.service.uci.edu>
Newsgroups: rec.music.classical
Organization: University of California, Irvine
Date: 14 May 93 12:20:23 GMT
edt...@eua.ericsson.se (Peter Dickson) writes:
>However, as you raise the issue, are there any composers in your list
>that you feel compares with the ones I mention, that is Mozart, Haydn,
>Beethoven and Schubert, who all did their most important work during
>a fifty-year span?
Yes, it would be hard to argue with the idea that the years 1780-1830
were an anomaly in the history of musical creativity. One really
couldn't carve out a more fruitful 50 years from any period in music
history. We also don't know how musical history will evaluate our
own time - Who will be considered the most creative musicians?
What will be regarded in retrospect as the most significant genres?
We are still, in most ways, coming to grips with and absorbing the
music written between 1890-1940, let alone the music written in our
own time. As others have pointed out, the fact that most of the music
we hear now is pre-recorded and a large segment of the worlds gets
to hear the same music really changes things.
So in an absolute sense, we can't really say much.
But...this is r.m.c and our notions of art-music, for better or for
worse, are shaped in a certain way. And we like to play games.
So how about this for a comparison:
The genre of the string quartet was firmly established prior to 1800
in a way that is not so different from what we think of as the string
quartet today. So let's compare the body of string quartets written
between 1800-1850 with the body written between 1940-1990. Of course
we can't evaluate the latter completely well, but I think the case
is illuminating. Who do we want in our lineup from the older period?
Beethoven. Schubert. Mendelssohn. Schumann. Haydn's last few
I suppose. Who important am I forgetting (history weeds out the
also-rans)?
>From our period, we can't exactly say, but the candidates include
all or some of the quartets of the following people -
Bloch, Britten, Cage, Carter, Dutilleux, Ferneyhough, Gubaidulina,
Henze, Holmboe, Klein, Krenek, Kurtag, Ligeti, Lutoslawski, Milhaud,
Penderecki, Rihm, Scelsi, Schnittke, Simpson, Shostakovich, Tippett,
Ullmann, Villa-Lobos, Xenakis, and undoubtably a bunch more that
will be dug up in the next 50 yrs (and that I've forgotten).
It's unlikely that anyone reading this (me included) has heard
all of this stuff, let alone do we know how history will regard
these works. But it appears to me at least that we probably live
in a bluddy golden age of the string quartet! I shouldn't be at
all surprised if the output from 1940-1990 winds up being judged
superior to the output from 1800-1850, Beethoven notwithstanding.
- Josh
Eric Schissel
>Nope, it's No. 3 that came first. Order: 3-1-2-5-4-6. And we've known that
>#3 came first for over a century. The first version of 18/1 came after 18/3.
Really? Thanks! (No, I'm not being sarcastic.) Actually, I am a little
disappointed:
i) I tend to prefer, and `ideologically' prefer, later works to earlier ones
and yet-
ii) on several grounds I personally prefer op. 18 no. 3 to op. 18 nos. 1, 2
and 5 (especially 5, which was why I was hoping it was first) though not
by very much. The opening theme of op. 18 no. 3 is really something
(yes, it's simple, but I've never had a simple idea that I liked quite that
much).
>>Enough. Listen to them all by hook or by crook, there are few better musical
>>experiences short of 16 hours straight of Bach cantatas.
>And you don't have to fumble with the words...
Words?
:-{)>
(I almost never read the words with cantatas, since I am usually almost
entirely out of sympathy with their sentiments- almost entirely;
certainly no. 8 "When will I die" is an exception!- but almost never out
of sympathy or admiration for the copious and wonderful music Bach put
in them. Have you heard no. 14? Is there anything quite like that opening
chorus outside of this piece and the St. Matthew Passion?)
-Eric Schissel
>Roger
Deryk Barker
: In article <1vl9hp$c...@hpchase.rose.hp.com> bru...@mothra.rose.hp.com (Bruce Edelstein) writes:
: >I have a great interest in aquiring recordings of Beethoven's
: >string quartets. My first excursion to Tower Records enlightened
: >me to the fact that the music industry truly cares about offering
: >me a thorough selection. Great. Where do I start?
: I wrote a mini-review of some recordings of the late quartets on r.m.c
: a few months ago. It's included below. Hope this helps.
: -Michael
: ============================================================
: I've been looking for a good recording of these quartets for a while
: now, and recently I decided to borrow as many CDs as I could find to
: do some comparative listening. The ones I got were:
: The Vegh Quartet on Valois
: The Alban Berg Quartet on EMI
: The Lindsay Quartet on ASV
: The Guarneri Quartet on BMG (mid-price)
: The Emerson Quartet on DG (Op. 135 only)
: Of these, my overall favorite was probably the Bergs. It sounds
: like it was recorded in the world's largest bathroom, so it takes a
: while for your ear to adjust to all the reverberation. Still, the
: playing is very nice -- good tone, intonation, blend -- and the
: interpretation was more or less right to my ear.
I wonder if you are referring to their appx-decade old survey or their
new live cycle? I have vol I of the new cycle (Op.18 1, 2 & 4, Op.59#2
(?), Op.74, Op.127, Op.130 & Op.131). Many people seemed to feel their
earler cycle was let down by an over-concentration on perfection; I
didn't necessarily go along with this but could understand what they
meant. The new cycle, as it is live, seems to overcome this and I
think the AB's may have produced the cycle many of us thought they had
in them.
: The Lindsay Quartet has a lot to recommend them too, e.g., their
: playing at the end of the first movement of Op. 127 is wonderfully
: sweet and sentimental. There are occasional lapses of intonation and
: a few real clunkers in here, though, so I'd place this one safely
: below the Bergs.
I prefer the Lindsay's late quartets to the AB's previous version of same.
I don't know if it's still around, but I'd certainly avoid the
Lasalle's. The Italian Quartet's cycle is available on Philips
mid-price and is very fine indeed.
For really penetrating performances of Op.131 and 132 the Busch
Quartet's 1930s recordings (EMI) are unbeatable.
--
Real: Deryk Barker, Computer Science Dept., Camosun College, Victoria B.C.
Email: (dba...@camosun.bc.ca)
Phone: +1 604 370 445
Daniel Hobbs
>I have a great interest in aquiring recordings of Beethoven's
>string quartets. My first excursion to Tower Records enlightened
>me to the fact that the music industry truly cares about offering
>me a thorough selection. Great. Where do I start?
> o Which quartets should I look for? Who's hot? Are there
> 'definitive' performances (opinions are encouraged)?
The Talich versions of the late quartets are also considered classic
interpretations. I like the Talich and the Lindsay, although the Lindsay
seems to drag in places. I "grew up" on the old Budapest Quartet's
recordings of the late quartets, and still droolingly await their release
on CD.
Dan
Marc Andreessen
(Deryk Barker) writes:
I wonder if you are referring to their appx-decade old survey or their
new live cycle? I have vol I of the new cycle (Op.18 1, 2 & 4, Op.59#2
(?), Op.74, Op.127, Op.130 & Op.131). Many people seemed to feel their
earler cycle was let down by an over-concentration on perfection; I
didn't necessarily go along with this but could understand what they
meant. The new cycle, as it is live, seems to overcome this and I
think the AB's may have produced the cycle many of us thought they had
in them.
Is there any audience noise in the new cycle? I think that would
pretty much ruin the late quartets for me; I've been waiting to find
out before plunking down $60...
Bart Gerritse
>In article <C8ptx...@sci.kun.nl> gerr...@sci.kun.nl (Bart Gerritse) writes:
>>Just listeb to the quartets, then you will understand!
>You seem to be supposing here that I have studied every Western
>work from every genre of art, except, of course, Beethoven's
>string quartets.
No, I do not suppose that. I guess that there is so much Western Art that
studying every work wouldn't be possible in a man's life.
What I mean to say (though I did not have the time yesterday to write more
than a one-liner) is that "the pinnacle of Western Art" is a subjective
statement, expressing the view (or perhaps only the state of mind) of the
speaker.
Taking it as *the opinion of the speaker* it *is* possible to compare
Beethoven's string quartets with any other music or art and decide what's
best *to his taste*.
Now, when I listen to Beethoven's late quartets, my reaction is "the man is
right, this *is* the pinnacle of Western Art". So, when I wrote
>>Just listeb to the quartets, then you will understand!
[sic, sorry for the typo]
I meant just what it says: listen to Beethoven's late quartets, and you will
know if you like them better than other works of art; and you will
understand how somebody reaches the conclusion "this is the pinnacle of
Western Art". You may disagree with his conclusion, of course, for it is
highly subjective.
>edt...@eua.ericsson.se (Peter Dickson) writes:
>- Josh
Well, that's easy. I like Beethoven's string quartet's better than anything
I've heard written in 1940-1990, so *in my opinion* Beethoven's quartets are
better.
This is of course the easy way out. But I'm not a musicologist, or an art
specialist or anything like that. I do not dare to state any opinion as if
it where more than *my opinion*. I love to listen to music, and Beethoven's
quartets are among my favourites, and I will encourage anybody to listen to
them and decide for him/herself whether they are the pinnacle of Western Art
or not.
Bart Gerritse
gerr...@sci.kun.nl
Howard Chang
In article <1993Jun16....@sequent.com>, dan...@sequent.com (Daniel Hobbs) writes:
> The Talich versions of the late quartets are also considered classic
> interpretations. I like the Talich and the Lindsay, although the Lindsay
> seems to drag in places. I "grew up" on the old Budapest Quartet's
> recordings of the late quartets, and still droolingly await their release
> on CD.
>
> Dan
>
I had recently bought Op. 18 and 58 "Rasuomsky" (excuse my spelling) played by
Cleveland Qt. at a used CD store. Has anyone else heard it and would like to
give some comment?
Howard Chang
Michael Wolverton
>Michael Wolverton (m...@Xenon.Stanford.EDU) wrote:
>:...
>: The Alban Berg Quartet on EMI
>: Of these, my overall favorite was probably the Bergs. It sounds
>: like it was recorded in the world's largest bathroom, so it takes a
>: while for your ear to adjust to all the reverberation. Still, the
>: playing is very nice -- good tone, intonation, blend -- and the
>: interpretation was more or less right to my ear.
>
>I wonder if you are referring to their appx-decade old survey or their
>new live cycle?
I was referring to the older set. I haven't heard the live version.
Eric Schissel
>worse, are shaped in a certain way. And we like to play games.
>Bloch, Britten, Cage, Carter, Dutilleux, Ferneyhough, Gubaidulina,
>Henze, Holmboe, Klein, Krenek, Kurtag, Ligeti, Lutoslawski, Milhaud,
>Penderecki, Rihm, Scelsi, Schnittke, Simpson, Shostakovich, Tippett,
>Ullmann, Villa-Lobos, Xenakis, and undoubtably a bunch more that
>will be dug up in the next 50 yrs (and that I've forgotten).
From 1940-1990, how about Sessions (at least his 2nd quartet is from
this period, I believe), Maconchy, Babbitt, and Segerstam?
(No, I haven't heard Segerstam's quartets. I have heard all the
Krenek but no. 4, though, and can give them all the thumbs up.)
You also forgot Miaskovski (some of whose 13 fine quartets do fall into
this period), Prokofiev (whose ok 2nd does- I still prefer the ca. 1930
1st), Martinu (hrm- his last 3 quartets at least postdate 1940), and of
course Malipiero and Tansman.
Still, I'd call your list a very good job.
Tippett's no. 5 is now published.
-Eric Schissel
>It's unlikely that anyone reading this (me included) has heard
>all of this stuff, let alone do we know how history will regard
>- Josh
Douglas Clark
I have the Amadeus, as I have their complete Mozart. Nobody has
yet mentioned their versions. Any comments.
--
Douglas Clark Voice : +44 225 427104
69 Hillcrest Drive, Bath, Avon, BA2 1HD Email : D.G.D...@bath.ac.uk
Deryk Barker
: In article <1993Jun16...@camins.camosun.bc.ca> dbarker@spang
: (Deryk Barker) writes:
: I wonder if you are referring to their appx-decade old survey or their
: new live cycle? I have vol I of the new cycle (Op.18 1, 2 & 4, Op.59#2
: (?), Op.74, Op.127, Op.130 & Op.131). Many people seemed to feel their
: earler cycle was let down by an over-concentration on perfection; I
: didn't necessarily go along with this but could understand what they
: meant. The new cycle, as it is live, seems to overcome this and I
: think the AB's may have produced the cycle many of us thought they had
: in them.
: Is there any audience noise in the new cycle? I think that would
: pretty much ruin the late quartets for me; I've been waiting to find
: out before plunking down $60...
There is applause both before (!) and after, but I can't say I noticed
any noise during.
Gerry Morgan (SINT)
I'd recommend the Lindsay Quartet (on ASV), especially for the
late quartets and the Razumovsy (Op. 59) quartets. But watch
out for poor quality control on the Opus 18 Quartets set. Has
anyone else noticed this, or was I just unlucky (had to take
three sets in a row back to Tower, and I hardly ever find faulty
CDs normally).
Gerry
Francois Velde
>
>I have the Amadeus, as I have their complete Mozart. Nobody has
>yet mentioned their versions. Any comments.
Thank goodness someone finally mentioned them... I like them, even N. Brainin
and his irrepressible violin bursting out at all times. But I have not
had a chance to compare much with other versions. 12 yrs ago I heard
the 3d Rasumovsky in concert by Amadeus, maybe that's why I remain
faithful to them.
--
Francois Velde
Pieter Hazewindus
ma...@ncsa.uiuc.edu (Marc Andreessen) writes [about the Alban Berg Quartet
Beethoven cycle]:
|> Is there any audience noise in the new cycle? I think that would
|> pretty much ruin the late quartets for me; I've been waiting to find
|> out before plunking down $60...
I have vol. 2. I just listened to the Opp. 95 and 135 again and listened
for audience noises. Well, they're remarkably quiet. There is a good
case here that recording with an audience yields fantastic disks. The
Alban Berg Quartet is playing impeccably, and in their emotional expression
they come close to the Quartetto Italiano. I'm not sure which one I would
prefer now.
There is a peculiar organ-pipe-like resonance that can be heard in the
op. 95 "serioso" first movement, especially for a few seconds after 2:10.
Did anyone else notice it, or know what this sound is?
Pieter Hazewindus pie...@sjc.mentorg.com (work)
Mentor Graphics Corporation, San Jose pie...@vlsi.cs.caltech.edu (other)
Marc Andreessen
ma...@ncsa.uiuc.edu (Marc Andreessen) writes [about the Alban Berg Quartet
Beethoven cycle]:
|> Is there any audience noise in the new cycle? I think that would
|> pretty much ruin the late quartets for me; I've been waiting to find
|> out before plunking down $60...
I have vol. 2. I just listened to the Opp. 95 and 135 again and listened
for audience noises. Well, they're remarkably quiet. There is a good
case here that recording with an audience yields fantastic disks. The
Alban Berg Quartet is playing impeccably [...]
Yup, I just picked up vol. 1 today -- it's superb, and I'm going to
have a hard time resisting picking up vol. 2 tomorrow.
Cheers,
Goldenberg Sorin
Sorin
Chieu Tran
>In article <1993Jun16...@camins.camosun.bc.ca> dbarker@spang
>(Deryk Barker) writes:
> I wonder if you are referring to their appx-decade old survey or their
> new live cycle? I have vol I of the new cycle (Op.18 1, 2 & 4, Op.59#2
> (?), Op.74, Op.127, Op.130 & Op.131). Many people seemed to feel their
> earler cycle was let down by an over-concentration on perfection; I
> didn't necessarily go along with this but could understand what they
> meant. The new cycle, as it is live, seems to overcome this and I
> think the AB's may have produced the cycle many of us thought they had
> in them.
I have Vol. I as well but still haven't decided whether I'd prefer it to
their previous cycle. Does anyone have any comment on Vol II?
--
-m------- Chieu Tran (Disclaimer: Obviously, I speak for myself.)
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