Customer Reviews

Beethoven: Late String Quartets

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If you are going to buy only one recording of the late Beethoven Quartets, then the 3-CD set of the Guarneri Quartet performances is the one to get. And if you are going to buy more than one set of the late quartets, then get this first. No performing group can perform more than one of the late quartets better than everybody else, but overall, the Guarneri Quartet does the best job, and their performance of the Opus 127 Quartet is beyond praise. It is such a perfect performance of this most lyrical of quartets: it is capable of making one blissfully happy, driving home on a country road on an Indian summer twilight with the windows rolled down and with an impossibly strong feeling of euphoria that lingers on late into the night. It is rare for a performing group to shape each phrase of a Beethoven quartet so well, tying in each phrase so beautifully and inevitably into the next. The Guarneri's sense for the architecture of this piece is unsurpassed. The performances of the other late quartets, though good, don't come up to the high standard set on Opus 127. There aren't any really good recordings on CD in print of the Opus 131, but the Guarneri does pretty well. (Will SONY ever release on CD the Columbia monaural recording of the studio performance of Opus 131 made by the Budapest Quartet in the 1950's with Jac Gorodetzky, 2nd violin, ML-4585? Don't hold your breath. And for the best performance of Opus 132, try the Fine Arts Quartet's performance that is currently available on CD.) How many stars does the Guarneri Quartet rate on these performances? I wouldn't give any quartet more than 4 for the collection of the late quartets, but when I see which other recordings of the late quartets received perfect 5-star ratings by Amazon customers, I am tempted to give the Guarneri at least a 6. And for the Opus 127, a 10 on a scale of 5.

I have been an avid classical music consumer for over 30 years, as well as being a professional musician and teacher.

With the exception of the 9th symphony, most late Beethoven tends to be a style of music which can be best described as deeply profound. This is not music with a lot of bells and whistles. It tends to require repeated concentrated listening to achieve a maximum level of understanding and enjoyment.
Nowhere is this more true than in the string quartets of Opp. 127, 130, 131, 132 and 135.

I have found that the Guarneri String Quartet has served as an excellent guide to these spiritual adventures in music. The heartfelt simplicity of their playing along with their matchless execution, and intonation helps to make the late Beethoven quartets a deeply moving experience every time I listen to them.

The Cavatina from Op. 130 (Adagio molto espressivo- slow, with much expression), is to me the musical description of the soul meeting God.

If you are a newcomer to this literature, you might consider checking out the early and middle quartets first. If your'e a veteran listener, I found this recording deeply satisfying.

This is music born out of a lifespan of extreme agony that melted away into peace and content , such expression is unequalled in all music ( perhaps with the exception of Wagner)

The performance is perfection , the slow movements will bring tears into your eyes , the fast will engulf you with their intellect and energy . Those people really "understand" what the music is saying , there're not simply playing notes .

Although these recordings were made some 30 years ago, the recording quality, resolution, balance, and dynamic intensity remains a remarkable engineering achievement. More importantly, however, is the performance of each of these quartets. They are played as close to perfect as can be played. The recent Emerson Quartet version of these quartets may be a tiny bit better in terms of recording quality, but these performances are still definitive.

This is quite simply, The Best recording I've ever heard of the Late Quartets. It is disappointing that op 127 is broken up, but believe me, you'll forgive that minor flaw when you hear it. The recording quality is superb as well, with definition and prescence to each of the instruments, a necessity with works of this scale. Beethoven, we are humbled befroe thee.

I don't know if it's because these recordings were the one's I grew up on, but they're still the best after all these years. I've heard them all from the Vegh, Talich, Italian Quartet, etc. The sound quality could be better, but the ears adjust quickly so it's really not a problem.
Highlight: Opus 132. This may be the best recorded version from first note to last.

They really do a nice job here. However, the layout of the disks, not presenting the works in order and splitting OP. 127 down the middle over 2 disks is poor. Also, the sound quality is a bit dry, as if the instruments were miked very closely. Finally, I would recommend the Lindsay renditions on ASV as really unleashing the emotional power of these great works. Once you hear that, these performances seem lacking in intensity.

They really do a nice job here. However, the layout of the disks, not presenting the works in order and splitting OP. 127 down the middle over 2 disks is poor. Also, the sound quality is a bit dry, as if the instruments were miked very closely. Finally, I would recommend the Lindsay renditions on ASV as really unleashing the emotional power of these great works. Once you hear that, these performances seem lacking in intensity.

This is a very good set of recordings of the late string quartets.
My one BIG criticism is that the last movement of Op.127 is carried over on a separate CD-that is unacceptable in my mind and totally unnecessary.

The Guarneri recording of Beethoven's Late String Quartets completes one of the greatest sets of work of any composer in history. The final quartets were arguably, along with the 3rd and 9th Symphonies, never exceeded for dynamism, tension, and invention that goes right to the listener's soul. As with the other 2 volumes, this set is every bit as beautifully played and sonically outstanding. Recorded in 1968-69, near the end of the Golden Age of Stereo Classical recordings from the US - a period, by the way, that is generally agreed to be between 1955-1970 - these performances just get better with the passing years. I suspect one reason for it is that the late 60s were the height of the hippie period and classical music had quite a following especially among the University crowd. This is very evident in the tension and strength, especially in Op.132 and the Grosse Fuge, Op.133, along with the famous Guarneri edge and attack that never seems overdone but is wholly convincing. We just don't hear that kind of playing today. The sound is very spatially accurate and splendid to listen to and as I mentioned in my comments on the previous 2 volumes (The Early and Middle Quartets), some of the warmth of the old 60s LPs has been sacrificed, but you honestly feel these 4 gentlemen are right in front of you as you listen. The final part of B.H. Haggin's excellent essay is also included and there was no one better to illuminate these great quartets. Full marks to RCA/SONY Classical for keeping these in the catalogue. Why not re-issue the complete Guraneri set in the famous "Original Jackets" series and include the Mozart "Haydn" quartets?Mozart: Six Quartets Dedicated to Haydn Bravo - all around!!