Originally posted by Thropplenoggin
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Beethoven String Quartets employing judicious use of vibrato
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rkyburz
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Originally posted by rkyburz View PostThanks 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 ...
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.Last edited by Bryn; 12-09-12, 19:36.
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rkyburz
Originally posted by Bryn View PostI 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.
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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:
Worth a look, I think.
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Originally posted by Thropplenoggin View PostAnother 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.
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Thropplenoggin
Originally posted by verismissimo View PostArrived this morning. A revelation! Thanks, TN.
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Thropplenoggin
Bryn, verismissimo: Let's compare notes at the end of the week. Perhaps mine will have arrived by then. (J'accuse La Poste!)
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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.
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Originally posted by Bryn View PostOne 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.
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?
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Originally posted by Russ_H View PostI 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?
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Originally posted by Bryn View PostUnfortunately, 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.
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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
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Originally posted by Thropplenoggin View PostI'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...
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