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| Mozart: String Quartets KV387 and KV421 | 
 enlarge | Creators: David Finckel, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Emerson String Quartet, Lawrence Dutton, Eugene Drucker, Philip Setzer
Label: Deutsche Grammophon
Category: Music
List Price: $16.98
Buy New: $6.88
You Save: $10.10 (59%)
Buy New/Used from $6.88
Avg. Customer Rating:  (4 reviews)
Sales Rank: 202887
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 5.5 x 4.7 x 0.5
UPC: 028943986120
EAN: 0028943986120
ASIN: B000001GLP
Release Date: February 14, 1995
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Tracks:
| • | String Quaret In G Major, K. 387: 1. Allegro vivace assai | | • | String Quartet In G Major, K. 387: 2. Menuetto: Allegro | | • | String Quartet In G Major, K. 387: 3. Andante cantabile | | • | String Quartet In G Major, K. 387: 4. Molto Allegro | | • | String Quartet In D Minor, K. 421: 1. Allegro moderato | | • | String Quartet In D Minor, K. 421: 2. Andante | | • | String Quartet In D Minor, K. 421: 3. Menuetto: Allegretto | | • | String Quartet In D Minor, K. 421: 4. Allegretto ma non troppo - Piu allegro |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
If the Schwann catalog is correct, this disc is the only survivor of a three-disc series of Mozart's Haydn Quartets (dedicated to the older composer) by the Emerson Quartet. What a pity! The alert, heads-up, intense style of the Emerson Quartet isn't to everybody's taste, but for those of us who love the way they play, all of these CDs should be available. As powerful as the Emersons' Mozart is, it's never insensitive. And hearing anything played this well, with such superb tone and ensemble, is a pleasure in itself. So let's hope the entire series comes back to life, and meanwhile enjoy these wonderful quartets and performances. --Leslie Gerber
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| Customer Reviews:
 Forget the price... June 5, 2005
3 out of 8 found this review helpful
Nothing has topped the Quartet Italiano's full Mozart cycle; and a close listening to both those and this CD reveals where Emerson went wrong. A Mozart quartet is a very gentle, delicate being, and yet the Emersons attack it going not soft and gentle but from quiet to loud in an instant, as if that communicates emotion. You can tell each of them wants to have their part recorded equally as others rather than as a single entity. In a word, they do not treat Mozart with the care he requires. Mozart's anger or angst was sublimated into his music, and his life, and always with an ironic light element to it. Here the Emersons just attack and think loud is identical to passionate, emotional. It is not. Buy the whole set in the Complete Mozart Edition, which I keep going back to even with all the recordings of these quartets I have.
Good, but not for the price. January 10, 2004
0 out of 4 found this review helpful
Although I don't own this recording, I've heard it a number of times (I borrowed it from a neighbor). I do own 2 Emerson recordings of Haydn (op. 76) and Schumann (Piano Quartet and Quintet). The Emerson Quartet plays very well. Their sound and their musical instincts are beyond anything but quibbles re. interpretation, sound, cohesion, etc. However, there are better recordings available. Amazon is currently selling a 4-disc set of the Alban Berg Quartet playing ALL of Mozart's mature quartets ("Haydn", "Hoffmeister", "Prussian") for only a few more dollars more than this price. The performance is, in my opinion, superior in that it is less extroverted and more elegant, more thoughtful, and allows Mozart to speak for himself. They also play better as an ensemble - they never sound like four soloists. I doubt anyone who buys this recording would be filled with great regret based upon its musical contents, but I cannot recommend only 2 quartets at this price.
 CASTING DARKER SHADOWS................ November 8, 2000
55 out of 59 found this review helpful
What frighteningly original and penetrating performances these are! Here is a Mozart whose despair and melancholy are no longer glossed over, nor disguised, nor dismissed. No. This is dark, revelatory stuff to wrestle with; this is the Mozart who, within a few years, would be dumped into an unmarked grave; this is a Mozart whose brooding shadow is far more akin to Beethoven than congenial "Papa" Haydn. No sunny breeze blows through the quartets here, as we are used to. The Emersons reach down into the very heart of the composer and pull from it a view of Mozart, the man, that is both beautiful and unnerving. This is a bleak Mozart, a Mozart caught between the foibles of his character and the musical genius of his mind; a Mozart teasing the throes of poverty; a Mozart plagued by the self-doubt that hung on the public recognition that always just seemed to escape him.
[Running time: 56:32]
Terrific Music, Not a Great Value July 12, 2000
5 out of 6 found this review helpful
The Emerson String Quartet is one of the most successful andpopular chamber groups of the 90s. While this recording may notreceive as much critical acclaim as their Bartok, Schubert or Shostakovich recordings, these Mozart "Haydn" Quartets are played dynamically. My only reason for not awarding a fifth star has nothing to do with the content of the music, but instead with the value of this purchase. Many prospective buyers may want to opt for the Julliard String Quartet's 3CD "Haydn" Quartet performance. With this CD you get two pieces, whereas with the Julliard you get 6. However, with either choice you are getting terrific music.
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