Beethoven String Quartets employing judicious use of vibrato

[rkyburz]

rkyburz: if you use Spotify, the complete Endellion box set is available to stream on there.

Thanks for the pointer! I may use Spotify for further exploring the Endellion recording; if I decide to "go for it", I would want to have that in iTunes; mixing streaming and iTunes would not be convenient enough for my listening habits ... so I may decide to purchase the CDs anyway, or I could also download from iTunes — but then I don't get the liner notes, and I would want to burn CDs anyway (on the other hand, the iTunes download is massively cheaper ... ). Still pondering ...

[Bryn]

Thanks for the pointer! I may use Spotify for further exploring the Endellion recording; if I decide to "go for it", I would want to have that in iTunes; mixing streaming and iTunes would not be convenient enough for my listening habits ... so I may decide to purchase the CDs anyway, or I could also download from iTunes — but then I don't get the liner notes, and I would want to burn CDs anyway (on the other hand, the iTunes download is massively cheaper ... ). Still pondering ...

I have not checked the iTunes price but the Endellion set is available via amazon.co.uk for around £21. I would not worry too much about the lack of notes via iTunes, etc. They only consist of a track listing plus a six and a half page article by Micha Donat which seeks to cover all the quartets and quintets included in the set. I doubt it would tell you much, if anything, you did not already know.

Oh, and contrary to the listing given at the head of Mark Sealey's enthusiastic review on Classical Net, the set does not include the Op. 104 Quintet arrangement of the Op. 1 #3 piano trio.

[rkyburz]

I have not checked the iTunes price but the Endellion set is available via amazon.co.uk for around £21. I would not worry too much about the lack of notes via iTunes, etc. They only consist of a track listing plus a six and a half page article by Micha Donat which seeks to cover all the quartets and quintets included in the set. I doubt it would tell you much, if anything, you did not already know.

Hi Bryn, thanks for the info — I had checked Amazon.de (as that's where I normally buy) — and their price is almost double that of amazon.co.uk! The latter is close enough to the iTunes price of CHF 30 (and saves me from burning CDs), so I just ordered!

[BarryW]

Thanks Thropplenoggin for the link to the rkyburz blog and thank you rkyburz for writing it.

I wonder whether anyone else followed this link from rkyburz's blog page:

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7417924n

Worth a look, I think.

[verismissimo]

Another contender for the 'less is more' vibrato crown: Kuijken Quartet. And very nice sound to boot.

*edit* It's actually a 'period performance' on modern instruments and is available on Spotify.

Arrived this morning. A revelation! Thanks, TN.

[Thropplenoggin]

Arrived this morning. A revelation! Thanks, TN.

Glad I could be of help, verismissimo. I also ordered it and its on its way to me. In the meantime, the Busch Quartet Razumovsky 3 and op.131 arrived today (the superb Dutton remastering). A very invigorating account of these works, quite unlike anything I've hitherto heard.

[Bryn]

Arrived this morning. A revelation! Thanks, TN.

Mine too was on the door mat when I got home. Yet to listen to it though.

[Thropplenoggin]

Bryn, verismissimo: Let's compare notes at the end of the week. Perhaps mine will have arrived by then. (J'accuse La Poste!)

[Bryn]

One modern set not mentioned yet, I think, but which I have found generally very satisfying, with vibrato not overdone, is that by the Auryn Quartet on 4 double CD albums or 4 DVD-As (probably best avoided due to the surround mixed being just that. The listener is placed in the middle of the quartet who, in the alternative "moving surround" option included, also get moved about in the soundscape. The CDs are fine.

[Russ_H]

One modern set not mentioned yet, I think, but which I have found generally very satisfying, with vibrato not overdone, is that by the Auryn Quartet on 4 double CD albums or 4 DVD-As (probably best avoided due to the surround mixed being just that. The listener is placed in the middle of the quartet who, in the alternative "moving surround" option included, also get moved about in the soundscape. The CDs are fine.

I am intrigued by the thought of these DVD-A recordings. As my player will cope with DVD-A as well
as SACD, I am tempted to give them a try. In addition to the surround mode, and the moving surround,
is it possible to select a conventional listening experience?

[Bryn]

I am intrigued by the thought of these DVD-A recordings. As my player will cope with DVD-A as well
as SACD, I am tempted to give them a try. In addition to the surround mode, and the moving surround,
is it possible to select a conventional listening experience?

Unfortunately, only by also investing in the CD versions. Many DVD-A players will mix the surround versions down to a 2 channel spread if required. Not really the same thing as a proper stereo mix though. I splashed out on the DVD-A first, then caved in and also got the CDs. I find the 'moving real surround. quite disturbing, The straight 'real surround' less so. By the way, the DVD-As also have an audio only DVD-V layer, so can be played in a standard DVD Video player too.

[Russ_H]

Unfortunately, only by also investing in the CD versions. Many DVD-A players will mix the surround versions down to a 2 channel spread if required. Not really the same thing as a proper stereo mix though. I splashed out on the DVD-A first, then caved in and also got the CDs. I find the 'moving real surround. quite disturbing, The straight 'real surround' less so. By the way, the DVD-As also have an audio only DVD-V layer, so can be played in a standard DVD Video player too.

Thank you.

[Thropplenoggin]

Via Qobuz, I'm currently listening to - and being staggered by - the quality of this re-mastering of some of the Budapest String Quartet's earliest recordings of Beethoven.

Does anyone know anything about this disc?





4CD set going for $12.66 on Amazon.com

[Thropplenoggin]

I thought I'd never find the perfect op. 131 but the Belcea Quartet's new release offers the best I've yet heard of this formidable work. The vibrato is perfectly judged. For my tastes, anyhoo.

[richardfinegold]

I'm still on an odyssey to select a complete set of Beethoven's quartets, not necessarily HIP (does one even exist?!) I do have a problem with excessive use of vibrato, which a lot of the old 'classic' quartets employ. Is this the so-called "colour" that reviewers often cite? I find it grating and that it distracts from the flow of the music. But, then, so does this chap.

I've already settled on the Artemis Quartet (Virgin Classics) recent cycle, which is still very pricey, so I spent a few hours yesterday trawling through the usual resources (various Amazons, allmusic.com, Spotify, YouTube) to sample some of the names that often crop up in forums and reviews. It's surprising how many of the big hitters (Végh '52 and 70s, Talich) are hard to get hold of without paying hundreds of pounds/dollars/euros - on CD, at least.

Anyway, here are some discoveries that may be of interest:

1) Vermeer Quartet: Beethoven String Quartets Nos 1 - 16 - very little vibrato, very clean sound (re-mastered on Warner Classics) - the main complaint seems to be not employing the full range of available dynamics (ppp, ff, etc.) I have to say I like what I heard, although there is some extraneous noise (heavy breathing? bowing?) in quieter passages. It's available to hear on Spotify. A good price, too. £20

2) Borodin Quartet (Chandos) Beethoven: String Quartets - pricey (as are all Chandos CDs), gorgeous sound, judicious use of vibrato. I already have an earlier CD of Beethoven string quartets on Virgin Classics - a real treasure, esp. op.132. I'll probably invest in this at some point.

3) The Smetana Quartet Beethoven: String Quartets Nos 11-16 often gets cited as being special. I'm interested by this. Again, vibrato seems judicious not excessive. There are short samples on Amazon mp3 page or Allmusic.

4) Finally, the much-vaunted Talich Quartet cycle seems to be coming back on 9 October 2012. There's an announcement to pre-order it here on Amazon.fr.

Voilà!

So, I'm almost certainly going to invest (or get someone to invest for me for b'day/Christmas) in the Artemis Quartet cycle and the Borodin Quartet cycle on Chandos. Vermeer and Smetana are very interesting possibilities, though I'd like to hear more first. And I'll be interested to hear anyone's thoughts on the Talich cycle.

P.S. I didn't mention Hagen Quartet(t), whose back catalogue of Beethoven quartets is a) incomplete and b) spread over many CDs no longer available. I also didn't mention the HIP Quatuor Mosaïques, whose op.18 is well worth getting, as its not a complete set. We can only hope...

I had aired my views of Beethoven Qts in the recent thread and didn't wish to be redundant. Thropp's OP mentioned the Vermeer Quartet. I heard them in concert in Unity Temple ( a famous Frank Lloyd Wright building) in my current hometown of Oak Park Il. and I believe they performed The Harp and Op.135. I don't remember much vibrato being on display. I do remember near faultless intonation and ensemble playing, a really enjoyable evening.