Customer Reviews

Beethoven: String Quartets, Vol. 4

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

 

 

The Borodins have certainly made these masterpieces their own. Well recorded and deeply felt, these performances rank among the very best and are more enjoyable to listen to than most others; this applies to every disc in the cycle, and I cannot see how anyone would be dissatisfied with the purchase of the entire cycle. I give it my highest recommendation

To the extent that Beethoven had any friends, Ignaz Schuppanzigh was a friend -- and a patron and a gifted violinist. He was the first violinist in Count Razumovsky's private quartet - the group that premiered many of Beethoven's quartets.

Before one of the premieres, Schuppanzigh wrote an incredibly obsequious letter to Beethoven begging him to change a few notes because of the clumsy fingering.

The master replied thus: "Do you think I give a damn for your fiddle when the gods speak to me."

Boy, they really did. And they speak loud and clear and direct in this wonderful performance.