BaL 21.01.17 - Beethoven: String Quartet no. 12 in E flat, Op. 127

[Bryn]

Beef Oven!'s great and he's an expert on Bruckner!

Beethoven's also great, as you rightly note, although Mr Johnson will have only different versions of recordings of Op. 127 to survey rather than of the score itself; not only that, even those will not include a reloading by Peter Maxwell Marthé!

Lest we forget:

[LeMartinPecheur]

I have a feeling that Op127 is the Cinderella of the late quartets. Why? Possibly because 130, 131 and 132 are clearly 'complete 2nd half' works in a concert, but 127 is a bit too short to take that spot on its own. It could I suppose be part or all of a 1st half, but that somehow seems disrespectful! Anyway, after 40+ years of concert-going I caught it live for the very first time only in 2014. (Yes, I confess, I've yet to tackle a complete cycle)

On disc I too stated with the Hungarians' HMV bargain-box c1973 for 127. Since then, the Italians, the Takacs and the Lindsays have been added (complete sets of just the late quartets for the Is and the Ts). The Lindsay perdormance came as a gift in this 'Resonance' box set but there are no recording dates that I can see. Are they the same recordings as appeared on HMV-shop twofers with ASV 'P' dates of 1987?

[ahinton]

I have a feeling that Op127 is the Cinderella of the late quartets.

Absolutely NOT for me it isn't!

[LeMartinPecheur]

Absolutely NOT for me it isn't!

OK, "the Cinderella in concert programming" then.

[MickyD]

As far as I know, we are still waiting for a period performance of the late Beethoven quartets.

[Richard Barrett]

As far as I know, we are still waiting for a period performance of the late Beethoven quartets.

Of all of them, to be sure, but there are a few which have cropped up in mixed Beethoven quartet discs over the years, and indeed my first recording of op.132 was made by the quartet of the Collegium Aureum in the mid-70s. It's still worth hearing I think.

[BBMmk2]

I know this work well but haven't any recordings of it. I do rather like The Hagen and the Tackacs Quartets, though. So maybe look this one up for starters.

[visualnickmos]

Looking forward to this BaL. I have just two sets of LvB's SQs, Alban Berg Quartet (EMI) and the Juilliard Quartet (Sony rec'd. 1964-1970)

I have not totally familiarised myself with them in detail, but I enjoy both. I don't feel the desire to add.

[richardfinegold]

In addition to the Hungarians and the Italians, I have the Yale, Cleveland, Tokyo and Guarneri sets. The last two are bargain basement CD issues in good sound and really they all are excellent. I also have The Auryn Qt on DVD Audio which places the listener in the middle of the Quartet

[verismissimo]

... the Lindsays have been added (complete sets of just the late quartets for the Is and the Ts). The Lindsay perdormance came as a gift in this 'Resonance' box set but there are no recording dates that I can see. Are they the same recordings as appeared on HMV-shop twofers with ASV 'P' dates of 1987?

The usually reliable Presto states that this is the Lindsays first recorded cycle. I generally prefer it to their later one.

(Pedants corner: When they recorded it, they were the Lindsay String Quartet. By the time they recorded it again, they were Lindsays.)

[verismissimo]

Beethoven’s great, but he’s no Bruckner.

Love those Bruckie string quartets, Beefie. And his trios, piano, violin and cello sonatas, songs, operas. Oh and as for his septet ...

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

(Pedants corner: When they recorded it, they were the Lindsay String Quartet. By the time they recorded it again, they were Lindsays.)

A bit of an inappropriate name anyway. They named themselves as a string quartet (which they were) in honour of Lord Lindsay, founder of Keele University, where the quartet was in residence for 14 years. Then they moved on to Sheffield and Manchester, calling themselves "The Lindsays" (which they never were) until they disbanded. Ironically, Peter Cropper was the only player to last out the full 39 years of the quartet, so it might have been more apt to have stuck with their original name - the Cropper Quartet.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

A bit of an inappropriate name anyway. They named themselves as a string quartet (which they were) in honour of Lord Lindsay, founder of Keele University, where the quartet was in residence for 14 years. Then they moved on to Sheffield and Manchester, calling themselves "The Lindsays" (which they never were) until they disbanded. Ironically, Peter Cropper was the only player to last out the full 39 years of the quartet, so it might have been more apt to have stuck with their original name - the Cropper Quartet.

By the same token, was the Amadeus S4tet also not "inappropriately name[d]", or the Aeolians, or the Alban Bergs, or the Diotimas, or the Fitzwilliams? An ensemble can call itself whatever it wishes, can it not ... the Lindsays, the Shirleys, the Beverleys, the Kimberleys ... entirely up to them? If they chose to honour somebody who founded a University, in what sense is it "inappropriate"?

[ahinton]

By the same token, was the Amadeus S4tet also not "inappropriately name[d]", or the Aeolians, or the Alban Bergs, or the Diotimas, or the Fitzwilliams? An ensemble can call itself whatever it wishes, can it not ... the Lindsays, the Shirleys, the Beverleys, the Kimberleys ... entirely up to them? If they chose to honour somebody who founded a University, in what sense is it "inappropriate"?

Quite. The Smiths, anyone? Or the Jacks?

[verismissimo]

... Ironically, Peter Cropper was the only player to last out the full 39 years of the quartet ...

I thought Bernard Gregor-Smith was also an original, Alpie. No?