Beethoven: String Quartet No. 14
Chia Han-Leon
Beethoven's string quartet no. 14 in C sharp minor, op.131. Could someone
recommend? Thanks!
Leon
Kang Howson-Jan
> Hi. A friend of mine would like to obtain a recording of
>Beethoven's string quartet no. 14 in C sharp minor, op.131. Could someone
The old Busch quartet on EMI. The quartetto Italiano is good too. In
fact, I like it so much, I will listen to just about any performance of
it. The true cognoscenti may despise this view, but if a quartet is good
enough to record a late Beethoven, it is going to be worth giving at
least one listen.
-- Kang Howson-Jan
London, Canada
(k...@julian.uwo.ca)
Mario Taboada
> Hi. A friend of mine would like to obtain a recording of
>Beethoven's string quartet no. 14 in C sharp minor, op.131. Could someone
>recommend? Thanks!
> Leon
Smetana Quartet on Denon/Supraphon. If this is not available, the Yale
Quartet on Vanguard does a superb job.
This is perhaps a good time to alert people that the Orford Quartet's
extraordinary Beethoven cycle on Delos has been reissued at a low price.
It can sit comfortably with the best, despite the fact that this is not
one of the famous superquartets. The sound is admirably clean; the
performances, vigorous and technically meticulous.
Regards,
--
Mario Taboada \\"The trouble with truth is its many varieties"\\
* Department of Mathematics * University of Southern California * Los Angeles
e-mail: tab...@mtha.usc.edu
Jay Venzon
>
> Hi. A friend of mine would like to obtain a recording of
>Beethoven's string quartet no. 14 in C sharp minor, op.131. Could someone
>recommend? Thanks!
>
> Leon
ASV.
Jay
Paul Jacob
>From: tab...@mtha.usc.edu (Mario Taboada)
>Subject: Re: Beethoven: String Quartet No. 14
>Date: 30 Aug 1995 19:49:49 -0700
>art4...@leonis.nus.sg (Chia Han-Leon) writes:
>> Hi. A friend of mine would like to obtain a recording of
>>Beethoven's string quartet no. 14 in C sharp minor, op.131. Could someone
>>recommend? Thanks!
>> Leon
>Smetana Quartet on Denon/Supraphon. If this is not available, the Yale
>Quartet on Vanguard does a superb job.
>This is perhaps a good time to alert people that the Orford Quartet's
>extraordinary Beethoven cycle on Delos has been reissued at a low price.
>It can sit comfortably with the best, despite the fact that this is not
>one of the famous superquartets. The sound is admirably clean; the
>performances, vigorous and technically meticulous.
>Regards,
>--
>Mario Taboada \\"The trouble with truth is its many varieties"\\
>* Department of Mathematics * University of Southern California * Los Angeles
>e-mail: tab...@mtha.usc.edu
RL pretty well savages the Orford in the Sept. Gramophone. I don't think
they're quite that bland, but for op. 131 I keep returning to the Busch. For a
"modern" performance try the Lindsay. I hope the Quatuour Mosaiques records
the lot--their op. 18. 5 & 6 is as refreshing as all their recordings.
James C Liu
>art4...@leonis.nus.sg (Chia Han-Leon) says:
>> Hi. A friend of mine would like to obtain a recording of
>>Beethoven's string quartet no. 14 in C sharp minor, op.131. Could someone
>>recommend? Thanks!
>For any of the late Beethoven quartets, I highly recommend the Lindsay
>Quartet on ASV.
My MHS transfer of the ASV recording has about a fifteen second gap in
the middle of the slow movement, which is presumably where the side change
was on the original LP. (Grrrrr ...). That major gripe aside, it is a
wonderful performance, not for those who are skittish about intonation, but
full of fire, and with a logical sense for construction and recurring
motifs. Architecturally sound and passionate playing, though the recorded
acoustic is far from ideal.
If you can tolerate old sound, the Busch Quartet still set a standard
for most to follow. They're hard to find, though supposedly they're due
out soon in a comprehensive set of Busch Beethoven recordings on EMI.
I imprinted on this quartet in the Amadeus Quartet's rendition. It's
slick to some, but I like the effortless execution and give-and-take; it
was also evidently one of the quartet's own favorite recordings. The
scherzo in particular is a pizzicatto (and harmonics!) spectacular. On DG.
--
/James C.S. Liu, MD "It's as large as life and twice as natural."
jl...@world.std.com -- Charles Dodgson (aka Lewis Carroll),
Department of Medicine _Alice's Adventures in Wonderland_
New England Med Ctr, Boston MA
Bill Palmer
>avd...@lulu.acns.nwu.edu (Jay Venzon) writes:
>
>>art4...@leonis.nus.sg (Chia Han-Leon) says:
>
>>> Hi. A friend of mine would like to obtain a recording of
>>>Beethoven's string quartet no. 14 in C sharp minor, op.131. Could someone
>>>recommend? Thanks!
>
>for most to follow. They're hard to find, though supposedly they're due
>out soon in a comprehensive set of Busch Beethoven recordings on EMI.
>
If you can tolerate really old sound, check out the Rose Quartet on
Biddulph LAB 056/7 (which can be had cheaply from the Berkshire Record
Outlet). Arnold Rose, leader of the quartet, was the concertmaster of
the Vienna Philharmonic for 57(!) years, including the time Mahler
directed the Staatsoper, and premiered a number of Brahms' chamber
works. He was Mahler's brother-in-law, and also was responsible for
rejecting Fritz Kreisler when he auditioned for a position in the
orchestra. The playing is quite a change from your typical throbbing
sound so prevalent today - there is almost no vibrato, just playing of
great accuracy.
Credit where credit is due - I first encountered this recording on
Henry Fogel's wonderful Collector's Corner program on WFMT-FM. I
think it's worth the entire (outrageous) cable bill just to get the 2
hour show every Monday night. Call up your local cable company and
get them to bring you WFMT.
Bill
S. LaBonne
> If you can tolerate old sound, the Busch Quartet still set a standard
>for most to follow. They're hard to find, though supposedly they're due
>out soon in a comprehensive set of Busch Beethoven recordings on EMI.
Actually there's a readily available Preiser set (I've seen it in
run-of-the-mill stores, and my local Borders got it for me in a few
days.) It contains 59/3, 95, 131 and 132, in good sound. I'm kind of
annoyed that the more comprehensive EMI set will come out _after_ I
bought this, but I console myself with the thought that it will
probably contain EMI's usual muffled, over-filtered transfers...
The performances are all great, but the op.131 is positively hypnotic.
I've never heard anything quite like it. Part of it, I think, is the
"old-fashioned", bow-arm-rather-than-vibrato-oriented tone production,
giving their tone a depth and plangency that no contemporary quartet
can match. Sometimes they seem a bit stiff rhythmically for my taste
(surprisingly, they generally use _less_ rubato in Beethoven than most
current-day groups, though they're rather freer in Schubert), but not
so in op. 131.
--
Opinions are mine alone; I never met a university with opinions!
Steve LaBonne ********************* (labo...@cnsunix.albany.edu)
"It can never be satisfied, the mind, never." - Wallace Stevens
Harry Collier
quartet (EMI, or Biddulph set). I've lived with this on LP and
now CD, and have never found any performance to really compete.
For quartet buffs, LAB 099 (Biddulph) has the C sharp minor
played by the Capet Quartet.
Harry Collier
Kiran Wagle
> Hi. A friend of mine would like to obtain a recording of
> Beethoven's string quartet no. 14 in C sharp minor, op.131.
I like the Alban Berg quartet's recording on EMI. I think the quartet
Opus 131 is the best string quartet I've ever heard, and the Bergers are
skilled enough to do it justice.
~ Kiran
--
WWW: http://www.io.com/user/entropy/home.html
WWW: http://www.io.com/user/entropy/contradance/dance-home.html
ESH Tooter
Busch, and Smetana all rank high with me for very different reasons. For
an only recording, I'd have to choose the Smetana. The performance is one
of the all-time greats, and the sound is up to the minute, obviously not
the case with Busch or Rose. Of course these are very different styles of
music making.
Going a step further, my favorite traversal of the Beethoven quartets was
done in the 60's by the Fine Arts Quartet, once the house quartet of the
American Broadcasting Company. These were well made recordings once
available on Concert Disk LP's. I found volumes containing the early and
middle quartets on CD's and I treasure them. I have never located copies
of the late quartets on CD, but would give much to find them.
The Fine Arts also recorded wonderful performances of Mozart and
Mendelsohn. If anyone knows how to get CDs of these, please tell me.