Customer Reviews

Late String Quartets 12-16

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

 

 

It is really strange, like one other reviewer said, that the Vermeer Quartet's late quartets recording has been so underreviewed. The question is one of expressivity. Rather, the question should NOT be of expressivity:

There are bound to be two camps of listeners, one that thinks of these quartets as not too different from any other Beethoven quartets, and the other that can see plainly that these five quartets - especially, of course, op. 131, 132 and 130 in that order - are something that are different from all the rest of music.

To the first camp, I would say, go ahead and get any recording currently available - yes, the Lindsays have superb sound and "finish", the Budapest have that typically-Budapest smooth flow, and so on.

But to the other camp - members of which, I hope, this review will be of value to - I must say that ONLY, repeat, ONLY, the Vermeer Quartet plays with that tone that is not merely appropriate, but necessary, for the late quartets. The word I would use to describe that tone is "humility".

In op. 131, for example - when the Master's mystical vision is revealed to Man - only the Vermeer's quiet, unassuming tone, completely devoid of embellishments, gives the impression of a genuine - and a genuinely spiritual - interpretation. In the Heiliger Dankgesang, for example, when the theme returns yet again for the fourth time, it is only in the Vermeer recording that I have perceived that infinite patience.

When power and passion are appropriate - for example, of course, in the last movement of op. 131 - it is ONLY the Vermeer that shows the mature understanding that here, power and passion have been sublimated from the music to the vision.

Unhesitatingly, I would state the Vermeer's performance of the late quartets as the standard, akin to Barenboim for the middle sonatas, or Karajan for the symphonies.

I could not disagree more strongly with the review from "D Fry pianist".

For one thing, the recorded sound is simply fabulous. I will admit right away to being one of the "golden ear-ed few" who will spend more money on his stereo systems that on his car. On my system, about which I will not bore you with the details except to say that it is more expensive than any car I have ever bought, this recording is not only extremely good, but distinguished for the excellence of its sound. Teldec has produced here a set of Beethoven quartets which is as far as I can tell the audiophile sonic champion of string quartet CDs out there in the market today. I would not hesitate to describe it as, sonically, more than twice as good as the EMI sound of the Alban Berg Quartet set the reviewer mentioned. It's possible that D Fry is listening on fairly ordinary audio equipment, on which the superior sonics of the set under review may show up as no more than annoyances -- in other words the sonic excellence of the disk may actually work against it.

As for the performance itself, I think it is a given that the Beethoven late quartets more than perhaps any other works of classical music, are a matter of individual preference. Certainly "D Fry pianist" is entitled to his preferences; I don't share them. I find the Vermeer Quartet's interpretation and execution riveting -- sometimes after listening to a quartet late at night, I find myself emotionally wrung out and exhausted, which is I think as it should be given these works and their unique place in Western musical civilization.

Bottom line: if you're listening on good equipment or good headphones, do not deprive yourself of this extraordinary pleasure! On more ordinary equipment, the Alban Berg Quartet set and the Borodin should do you just fine.

As above, I find it hard to believe no one has yet reviewed the Vermeer Quartet's recording of these works. It is absolutely heartbreaking that such a fine recording should be so unheard.

Based on the reviews, I eagerly anticipated this performance. While there are some nice moments, the performances suffer on several counts. For one thing, this recording seems to be somewhat harsh, too closely miked, and lacking in midrange/bass. On another count, while the players are individually very fine, especially the tonal contributions of Richard Young's viola, which is amazing, this is not a unified string quartet sound, in my opinion. Another example: In the Heiliger Dankgesang movement of Op. 132, which is frequently done with little vibrato (this section is a conscious evocation of earlier music), Vermeer uses none and there is no luminosity to the sound. I would recommend the Alban Berg Quartet on the Borodin Quartet over this recording.