Beethoven String Quartets on record

[Dave2002]

Their poorly written software will not permit me to change from Prime delivery to Super Saver, either.

Have you noticed that Amazon keeps offering free trials of Prime fairly frequently these days? Sometimes I accept, though I'm wary of getting caught for the full subscription. Last time I did this, a few months ago, I noticed that even after I cancelled a few orders were satisfied by Prime.

I started another one a few days ago, though the "penalties" for not cancelling are now higher, with the significantly higher annual fee of £79.

[Bryn]

The subscription has gone up, but so have the 'benefits'. I don't want the online films but you can't opt out and reduce the cost. I plan to cancel at the end of the month.

[Dave2002]

The subscription has gone up, but so have the 'benefits'. I don't want the online films but you can't opt out and reduce the cost. I plan to cancel at the end of the month.

So do I!

[Dave2002]

I found this comparative (-sh) review of Beethoven quartets by Tully Potter on the Elias String quartet's website a while back. Very useful as a prompt and guide but not infallible (which makes it more interersting I think )

http://thebeethovenproject.com/explo...hs-to-nirvana/

I thought I'd replied to this yesterday, but I guess it went into the bin!

It's a bit odd that that article, which seems a good read, is on the Elias Quartet's website. All credit to them for putting it there - though so far I haven't spotted them in the discussion. The Elias themselves are no mean performers, though in recent years perhaps the best performance I've heard of any of Beethoven's quartets has been by the Navarra Quartet (Op 131). I also heard the Endellions recently in an Op 18 quartet. There are fairly few young quartets traversing the Beethoven repertoire at present, and as it would obviously take some time to get right through, not many of the current crop of young British quartets have made CDs. A couple of other British quartets which may eventually get round to Beethoven cycles are the Doric and the Sacconi. The Sacconi has so far made one CD of Beethoven Op 18 quartets, nos 1, 4 and 6 - http://sacconi.com/recordings/

One quartet which has been recording the Beethoven works is the Auryn Quartet, from Germany, and their CDs are worth checking out.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=auryn+quartet+beethoven&tag=googhydr-21&index=music&hvadid=34720016388&hvpos=1t1&hvexid=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=4201554025649915186&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=e&hvdev=c&ref=pd_sl_3zquidt2oy_e

[kea]

Based on more sampling and Juilliard '70 being a definite back burner item, I think I will get Belcea; seems like a good contrast to Végh.

Any thoughts on the following?

Takács
Gewandhaus
Mosaïques Op.18 (leaning towards getting due to wanting to hear a PI set, but I know there are alternatives)
Beethoven or Taneyev (if I can find them)

Definitely curious to hear more from the Petersen Quartet as well, after very much enjoying their Schubert D956 http://www.amazon.co.uk/Schubert-F-S...dp/B0027RC4WQ/ (link to the MP3 album because the CD page can't seem to decide whether it wants to be Petersen Quartet/Sanderling or Alban Berg Quartet/Schiff), though since Capriccio is on NML I can preview there for now.

[richardfinegold]

Based on more sampling and Juilliard '70 being a definite back burner item, I think I will get Belcea; seems like a good contrast to Végh.

Any thoughts on the following?

Takács
Gewandhaus
Mosaïques Op.18 (leaning towards getting due to wanting to hear a PI set, but I know there are alternatives)
Beethoven or Taneyev (if I can find them)

Definitely curious to hear more from the Petersen Quartet as well, after very much enjoying their Schubert D956 http://www.amazon.co.uk/Schubert-F-S...dp/B0027RC4WQ/ (link to the MP3 album because the CD page can't seem to decide whether it wants to be Petersen Quartet/Sanderling or Alban Berg Quartet/Schiff), though since Capriccio is on NML I can preview there for now.

i have the Takacs. It's ok but in a strongly competitive field, nothing special. Haven't heard the others.

[Dave2002]

i have the Takacs. It's ok but in a strongly competitive field, nothing special. Haven't heard the others.

That's an interesting view. The Takacs recordings and performances I've heard have been very good, though perhaps I've been tipped towards that view by prompting from critics and reviewers. I have rather fancied getting their versions, but the price of individual performances has so far put me off. Is there a box set yet, and what is the pricing like? I can see three separate boxes, and the total cost is over £40 at minimum from amazon marketplace sellers.

[kea]

That's an interesting view. The Takacs recordings and performances I've heard have been very good, though perhaps I've been tipped towards that view by prompting from critics and reviewers. I have rather fancied getting their versions, but the price of individual performances has so far put me off. Is there a box set yet, and what is the pricing like? I can see three separate boxes, and the total cost is over £40 at minimum from amazon marketplace sellers.

I don't see a box set and don't imagine one is forthcoming with the Takács having jumped ship to Hyperion. Some of the separate sets are in libraries that have historically been willing to lend CDs to me via interloan, and they're also a bit cheaper in America, but I've not heard anything by the Takács since the two Gabors left and don't really know what to expect.

[waldo]

Based on more sampling and Juilliard '70 being a definite back burner item, I think I will get Belcea; seems like a good contrast to Végh.

Any thoughts on the following?

Takács
Gewandhaus
Mosaïques Op.18 (leaning towards getting due to wanting to hear a PI set, but I know there are alternatives)
Beethoven or Taneyev (if I can find them)

Definitely curious to hear more from the Petersen Quartet as well, after very much enjoying their Schubert D956 http://www.amazon.co.uk/Schubert-F-S...dp/B0027RC4WQ/ (link to the MP3 album because the CD page can't seem to decide whether it wants to be Petersen Quartet/Sanderling or Alban Berg Quartet/Schiff), though since Capriccio is on NML I can preview there for now.

I really can't recommend the Belcea quartet highly enough. Until they came along, I never had a favourite set. I would jump from one ensemble to the next, depending on the work, or my mood. (I have about seven other full sets, none of which is ideal.) Now, it is the Belcea all the way. They haven't been around long enough to register as sacred cows, but for me they are in a different league to everyone else. The recordings are rich, warm and exceptionally clear. The Belceas are clearly somewhat informed by historical practice: vibrato is not exactly sparing, but it is used as a constantly varying expressive device, not as an automatic reflex (like the Takacs or Alban Bergs). Attention to detail is constantly astounding, but it always feels natural. As interpretations, I suppose you would class them in the "intense" or "profound and weighty" bracket

I suppose you should sample, if you haven't already. Liking ensembles seems to be a very personal matter - more so than liking orchestras, for instance. It is for me, anyway. It is about liking the basic sound of the group, as well as the personality of their playing. I knew straightaway I would love the Belceas. I heard them on Spotify and immediately thought, "That's it. That's my set."

As for the Mosaiques, I have one disc from that Opus 18 set. It is excellent, as you would expect. The only problem is the price. For some reason, they have never got around to boxing up the set and selling it for a reasonably price. You have to buy three separate disks, all around the ten pound mark. For me, it just isn't worth it.

[kea]

Definitely looking forward to hearing the whole thing when it arrives, then.

I did sample fairly extensively, including listening to the entirety of 59/3 and 132 and comparing to other ensembles (e.g. I'd seen the Artemis Quartet mentioned as a group with a similar approach, so A/B'd a couple of movements)—knew the sound of the group appealed from the first few seconds of course, but had to spend a bit of time getting acquainted with their personality as, strangely enough, I've never previously heard a Belcea Quartet recording. "Intense" is definitely the right word, but not intense in the testosterone-soaked Juilliard/Arditti way (if that even makes any sense) and without the super-refined "we could do this in our sleep" aura of the Emersons. I'm hoping that sort of risk-taking atmosphere extends to the other quartets as well.

As far as the Mosaïques goes, my university's music school happens to have a (relatively) large period performance department so I can probably get the library to order them without too much trouble. I'm hoping the lack of a box set is not just Naïve's traditional stinginess but a sign that they plan to record the rest of the quartets, though.

[richardfinegold]

That's an interesting view. The Takacs recordings and performances I've heard have been very good, though perhaps I've been tipped towards that view by prompting from critics and reviewers. I have rather fancied getting their versions, but the price of individual performances has so far put me off. Is there a box set yet, and what is the pricing like? I can see three separate boxes, and the total cost is over £40 at minimum from amazon marketplace sellers.

Actually on further review...I only have their set of the Late Quartets, so I can't comment on the Ts in the rest of the cycle.
My favorite set of the Late Qts is the Yale Quartet, followed by the Hungarians

[waldo]

As far as the Mosaïques goes, my university's music school happens to have a (relatively) large period performance department so I can probably get the library to order them without too much trouble. I'm hoping the lack of a box set is not just Naïve's traditional stinginess but a sign that they plan to record the rest of the quartets, though.

As far as I can see, the Mosaiques seem to have dried up as a recording unit. I could be wrong, but they just don't seem to be putting much out these days. They certainly have performed the later Beethoven quartets live, but that was years ago. They got excellent reviews, too. Why they haven't recorded them, I really don't know. Given the popularity and epidemic spread of period practice, the paucity of such performances of Beethoven quartets - especially the middle and late ones - is absolutely mystifying. You would think that someone would have done them by now, if only to plant a flag and say they got there first. Is there something in the later music that makes it inimical to such a performance? I don't know, but there has to be some explanation.........

The Emersons: speaking of personal taste, I think they must rank as my least favourite ensemble of all time. I cringe and clap hands to my ears when I hear them. All that metallic shrieking and squealing.........

[kea]

Given the popularity and epidemic spread of period practice, the paucity of such performances of Beethoven quartets - especially the middle and late ones - is absolutely mystifying. You would think that someone would have done them by now, if only to plant a flag and say they got there first. Is there something in the later music that makes it inimical to such a performance? I don't know, but there has to be some explanation.........

I think it's just that the late quartets in particular are of extreme difficulty even on beefed up modern instruments, let alone period ones. The PI Beethoven quartets that have been recorded are Op.18 (multiple times), 59/3, 74 twice, 95 and 135—all relatively "classical" in dimensions and demands, even compared to Op. 59/1 (the "biggest" string quartet written up to that point) let alone 130 or 131. (Though I think there's a PI 132 now as well... Quatuor Terpsycordes or something? Never heard it.)

[richardfinegold]

As far as I can see, the Mosaiques seem to have dried up as a recording unit. I could be wrong, but they just don't seem to be putting much out these days. They certainly have performed the later Beethoven quartets live, but that was years ago. They got excellent reviews, too. Why they haven't recorded them, I really don't know. Given the popularity and epidemic spread of period practice, the paucity of such performances of Beethoven quartets - especially the middle and late ones - is absolutely mystifying. You would think that someone would have done them by now, if only to plant a flag and say they got there first. Is there something in the later music that makes it inimical to such a performance? I don't know, but there has to be some explanation.........

The Emersons: speaking of personal taste, I think they must rank as my least favourite ensemble of all time. I cringe and clap hands to my ears when I hear them. All that metallic shrieking and squealing.........

I used to swear by the Emersons, particularly after their Bartok cycle. I had heard them in concert twice in the early 90s and they were my favorite active
Quartet. When they released their Beethoven cycle I was hugely disillusioned. There was no sense of any emotional connection with the music and it seemed as if this was intentional. My local library had purchased the set and I was able to listen a few times and after having freinds tell me that I was in error, I re-borrowed them at intervals but never changed my impression. The Library also purchasd the Shostakovich cycle which I thought was marginally better but still
very inferior to the Fitwilliams and any of the Borodin cycles. I also heard a few concerts on the radio that confirmed my impressions of their artistic decline.
It is a strange case of an ensemble peaking early in their career and then losing their edge, which is the opposite of what we expect to happen.

[verismissimo]

I used to swear by the Emersons, particularly after their Bartok cycle... When they released their Beethoven cycle I was hugely disillusioned. There was no sense of any emotional connection with the music and it seemed as if this was intentional...

I heard them 20 years or so ago playing Beethoven in New York... and left at the interval, for exactly the reasons you articulate, rfg.

At the time I was deeply in thrall to the Lindsays, who might be accused of various things, but not of lack of emotional connection with the music.

Now, long after their retiring from the scene, I'm bowled over by the playing of Brooklyn Rider, whose only Beethoven recording to date (I think) is their stunning Op 131. Have you heard them?