Customer Reviews

BEETHOVEN - The String Quartets - Gewandhaus-Quartett 10CD Set

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One simply cannot have _too_ many different recordings of Beethoven's 16 canonical string quartets, and the good news is that _so_ many recordings have something unique to say about how a particular group approaches these masterpieces. (Of course, we all have our favourites, and some people appear to be ready to go to war when debating Vegh vs. Lindsays vs. Italiano vs. Takacs vs. Budapest 1-2-3 etc. _My_ absolute favourite would be the Italiano. ;-)

The Gewandhaus-Quartett now stake their own claim to the rich recorded history of this music, and they yield absolutely _no_ ground to the competition. I would heartily recommend this set as a first introduction to Beethoven's string quartets, with one disclaimer: the recorded sound is a bit airy, so if you're not fond of a little reverb, then look elsewhere - namely, to the Talich Quartet, whose recorded acoustics are superbly-dry.

(In my opinion, this airiness gives the sound a chance to "breathe" and linger, which is advantageous in these works; if you don't like the sound of the Angeles Quartet's Haydn recordings, then you won't like this sound, either.)

One can stlll hear each instrument very clearly, though, and the Gewandhaus-Quartett's technique is faultless. Their tempos throughout the pieces are well-chosen, their intonation is strong and consistent, and their interplay is most complementary and well-balanced.

Additionally, in this age of paper-sleeved CDs in box sets with often-minimal booklets, this collection is presented in a _very_ nice case housing two large digipaks (holding 4 and 6 CDs, respectively) and a marvellous booklet in German, English, and French. The 10th CD features historical recordings and discussion (in German, without translation, unfortunately), as well as a performance of the Op.14-1 piano-sonata transcription by Beethoven himself.

Final Note: Amazon's price for this, at the time of my review, is ridiculous. I purchased my copy from Japan and saved a _bundle_, even with shipping being around $15. ;-)