Customer Reviews

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

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

 

 

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.

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.

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.

This is the ultimate Beethoven set of quartets, beautifully played, maybe not so well recorded, but music making here is on the highest possible level, and for people who like Beethoven these are the recordings to have. Searching and with the meditative slow movements these recordings make you discover a new dimension in Beethoven's quartets, and unlikely Emerson quartet's shallow and boring accounts on DG (which are played perfect technically but without the right feeling I think) these performances by Vegh will make you listen to this music again and again.

Make no mistake -- this is a 5-star performance, but, unfortunately, it's compromised by a 0-star recording. While this CD is certainly an artistic triumph, I am appalled that, among the several reviews I had read on this performance before purchasing, not one mentioned Mr. Vegh's loud, incessent and labored breathing that his violin microphone picked up. In the beautiful quiet sections, Vegh's continued wheezing kicks you right out of the music and, frankly, makes every performance unlistenable. The fact that these recordings span two years and his loud nostrils sing a melody of their own design on every performance amazed me. What on earth were the producer and the artists thinking in recording and releasing such annoying sounds? (At a concert, such distractions would never be tolerated from a coughing or sneezing member of the audience.) I know that these are considered "classic" recordings and I agree that the interpretations are close to genius, but, again, I can think of no excuse to have to drink this fine wine in a cracked, dirty glass.

This set has received so much praise from critics that I was frankly a little disappointed. Performances are good, with the early quartets especially vibrant. Op. 130 and Grosse Fugue are excellent. The middle quartets are OK, but the breathing sounds intrude a bit on op. 74. Overall sound quality is only fair with upper/mid-range a bit lacking in body, but good cello sound. The breathing is sometimes annoying. Be warned that op. 131 is all on ONE track of 40+ minutes without any mention of the lengths of the movements. Elsewhere two movements are combined onto one track. Taken all together, this is good, but not great.

Generally, I found these recordings to be fairly musical. There is some sloppy intonation, and the ensemble playing is not always crisp. But what really makes this set a huge disappointment is the terrible CD quality. The recorded sound is ADD and poorly balanced. The players' breathing is also very annoying. But worst of all is that some of the quartets are not individually tracked/banded. So an entire 40 minute quartet will be squeezed onto one track, with no mention of individual movements. Some people say "I only care about the performances". But when you have to live with a set, especially a cornerstone of your CD library, like the Beethoven Quartets, these problems become pretty serious. I don't think anyone should buy this set until the company remasters the sound and adds the appropriate number of tracks to the discs. I found this set to be so aggravating, I bought the Cleveland Quartet on Telarc, and have been much happier with the wonderful performances and CD production values.