Integrale des Quatuors a Cordes / Complete String Quartets / Gesamteinspielung der Streichquartette

Beethoven (Artist), Vegh Quartet (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (December 7, 1993)
• Number of Discs: 8
• Label: Valois
• ASIN: B000003HZQ
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #259,797 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Vegh Set the Beethoven Benchmark, December 15, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Integrale des Quatuors a Cordes / Complete String Quartets / Gesamteinspielung der Streichquartette (Audio CD)

In addition to this set of the complete Beethoven string quartets, I also own sets by the Talich, Lindsay, Cleveland, and Emerson Quartets. I have also listened extensively to recordings of basically the same repertoire by the Alban Berg, the Brandis, the Melos, the Italian, and the Vermeer String Quartets (though not all have recorded Beethoven's complete string quartet cycle). While the cello tends to predominate over the other strings in the Vegh set and I find myself longing for the auditory balance and purity of sound to be found in the Emerson, Cleveland, and even the Italian recordings (on Deutsche Grammophon, Telarc, and Philips, respectively), no one--absolutely no other modern ensemble on compact disc--gets to the heart and soul of this music like the Vegh. This is not cerebral stuff, but music you literally feel your way through. The Quattuor Vegh lead the way admirably. They set the benchmark against which all future recordings of the Beethoven string quartets will be compared.

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Regarding the sound quality...., September 12, 2003

By 

Howard G Brown "brownswan" (Port St. Lucie, FL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Integrale des Quatuors a Cordes / Complete String Quartets / Gesamteinspielung der Streichquartette (Audio CD)

I'm giving this five stars for performance AND sound. Much has been written about the quality of these recordings. I bought the individual disks, begining with the Op.95/Op.132 coupling. That recording won my heart, and within a few months I had purchased all the quartets. If sound quality had been an issue, I might not have moved past that initial purchase.

I listen to these recordings on rebuilt AR4s I salvaged, using new 8" drivers, Vifa tweeters and a simple LC network. The electronics are nothing special: a latter day Marantz A/V receiver. I also listen to them over Jensen TRI-ette 12" 3-way
ducted port speakers, with horn tweeters -- 16-Ohm systems from the late '50s. A very different 'sound' but the Vegh recordings still sing their heart out through a Dyna 70 valve amp.

I listen to them over JUSTer pc speakers -- about as cheap as you can get -- and over headphones. The Vegh recordings continue to give pleasure: Beethoven shines through every time.

It may be that some reviewers are listening over very advanced, sophisticated equipment, and hearing all with golden ears. I must admit, I enjoy many of the NAXOS and Opera d'oro historical opera releases; the latest digital sound is not essential to my enjoyment of a recoded performance. My favorite AIDA remains the Bjorling-Milanov RCA mono set from the '50s; my favoite Beethoven 9th is Furtwangler/Bayreuth, 1951. Compared with these the Vegh Beethoven quartets sound very up to date.

Sound aside, Sandor Vegh and friends deserve 5 stars.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful Beethoven, May 12, 2000

By 

Liam Sinclair - See all my reviews

This review is from: Integrale des Quatuors a Cordes / Complete String Quartets / Gesamteinspielung der Streichquartette (Audio CD)

This one keeps popping up as essential Beethoven and to my mind it deserves all the credit it gets.There is I feel something very special going on here even though all is not technically perfect.That said I would prefer this set to any other recording either before or after especially to the highly polished but emotionally tepid Emerson and Alban Berg Quartets.In spite of this I have heard rumours that the Hollywood Quartet on EMI Testament from the 50's run this one close-though I haven't heard that particular recording.The only other ensemble I've heard that seem to inhabit the same emotional climate as the Vegh is the Petersen Quartet on the Capriccio label though they have only recorded a handful of the 16.Even so I think they are well worth seeking out especially in Opus 130 where I think they are even better than the Vegh.All in all anyone interested in Beethoven are unlikely to be disappointed with this.