Bal 7.05.22 - Beethoven String Quartet no. 1 in F (Op 18 no 1)

[pastoralguy]

Great to hear The Paganini Quartet get a mention. Their leader, Henri Temianka, wrote a wonderful book called ‘Facing the Music’ which describes the founding of the quartet and how they came to play on the four Stradivari instruments that were once owned by Paganini.

[Alison]

To consider this one quartet will make for a much more interesting library edition imho, especially with a reviewer good on detail.

[Alison]

Sounds very much like Sophy Ridge of Sky news reviewing today.

[pastoralguy]

Glad to see The Cuarteto Casals get the top spot today.

[Alison]

Glad to see The Cuarteto Casals get the top spot today.

Slightly surprised Chiaroscuro didn’t win though admit I don’t enjoy that version as much as some.

[ardcarp]

To consider this one quartet will make for a much more interesting library edition imho, especially with a reviewer good on detail.

Given that opportunity which you mention, I must say hearing every comment repeated 3X (e.g. the 'open strings' thing near the outset of the programme) made for boring listening. Likewise musings about tempi. Personally I would have preferred to have a practising professional SQ player reviewing the piece. I am slightly prejudiced about Op18 No 1 as I was over-exposed to it (around A-level time?) as an example of how Beethoven took a motif...the opening theme of the 1st mov't in this case..... and worried it to death. If this sounds like heresy, then just write me off as a heretic....but I love the originality of the late quartets. Why not one of those? Much more to say, though preferably only once.

More heresy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2V1EAerRWw

[Retune]

Interesting choice. Has anyone listened to the whole Casals cycle? By the end of the programme the Chiaroscuro was perhaps the quartet I most wanted to hear more of - it will be interesting to see how their cycle progresses.

[pastoralguy]

Interesting choice. Has anyone listened to the whole Casals cycle? By the end of the programme the Chiaroscuro was perhaps the quartet I most wanted to hear more of - it will be interesting to see how their cycle progresses.

Yes, I’m a big fan of the Casals and eagerly bought each volume as it was released. Wonderful musicians!

[Master Jacques]

Given that opportunity which you mention, I must say hearing every comment repeated 3X (e.g. the 'open strings' thing near the outset of the programme) made for boring listening. Likewise musings about tempi. Personally I would have preferred to have a practising professional SQ player reviewing the piece.

I can't disagree with your judgement of the ... well, let's say "humdrum" presentation of this BAL. I'd have preferred a professional broadcaster myself to a corporate academic scarcely interested in the art of recording, though to be fair the reviewer did have something to say about the discography.

As for their aperçu to the effect that players of this quartet need to make a choice between taking a "classical" or "romantic" approach, that may be a poser for academics keen to put everything into one bogus pigeonhole or another, but it is a question which - in my experience - professional performing musicians never waste a second thinking about!

[Bryn]

I can't disagree with your judgement of the ... well, let's say "humdrum" presentation of this BAL. I'd have preferred a professional broadcaster myself to a corporate academic scarcely interested in the art of recording, though to be fair the reviewer did have something to say about the discography.

As for their aperçu to the effect that players of this quartet need to make a choice between taking a "classical" or "romantic" approach, that may be a poser for academics keen to put everything into one bogus pigeonhole or another, but it is a question which - in my experience - professional performing musicians never waste a second thinking about!

That reminds me of what finally put me of Fanny Waterman's credibility as a judge of pianism. She was going on about differences in approach to playing Mozart and Beethoven scales, but in the context of playing them on a modern Steinway instrument, something neither of them had any knowledge of the playing properties of. 'nuff sed.

[jonfan]

By the end of the programme the Chiaroscuro was perhaps the quartet I most wanted to hear more of - it will be interesting to see how their cycle progresses.

I can’t wait to hear everything they do. They make every performance of whatever piece they’re playing as though it’s just been composed. I heard them live in Mozart’s Clarinet Quintet and Schubert’s Octet recently - absolutely revelatory.