 | | |
| Beethoven - The Complete String Quartets / Alban Berg Quartet | 
 enlarge
| Artists: Ludwig Van Beethoven, Alban Berg Quartet, Gerhard Schulz, Hatto Beyerle, Thomas Kakuska, Valentin Erben Guenther Pichler
Label: EMI Classics
Category: Music
List Price: $46.98
Buy New: $33.98
You Save: $13.00 (28%)
Buy New/Used from $33.98
Avg. Customer Rating:  (30 reviews)
Sales Rank: 2409
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 7
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 5.4 x 5.1 x 0.9
MPN: 73606
UPC: 724357360623
EAN: 0724357360623
ASIN: B000026D4J
Release Date: November 16, 1999
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
|
| Customer Reviews:
 Just beautiful March 29, 2005
47 out of 49 found this review helpful
What a splendid set. I'm familiar with a number of other recordings--Cleveland, Takacs, Emerson, Budapest, Kodaly, etc.--but this is the best overall to my taste. The tone and sound are just beautiful. There is plenty of passion but no harshness. Plenty of gentleness and simply beauty when they are called for. Lots of dynamic range and varied tempi. On almost every movement (except for me Op 59 #1 second movement) they make the music come across in a fresh way that one can return to over and over.
Also, beautifully recorded.
Can't imagine anything better (though the Auryn quartet is wonderful, as well.)
Excellent modern interpretation March 28, 2005
19 out of 22 found this review helpful
Though I've been weaned on the Quartetto Italiano's style, with a good dose of the Quatuor Vegh's second traversal of the cycle, this is the set I return to most. Compared with those two, the ABQ (Alban Berg Quartett) tend to adopt quicker tempos, reveling in the kind of precision that attracts adjectives such as "dispassionate" or "soulless." Nothing could be further from the truth. Unlike similar modern interpreters such as the Emerson Quartet, the ABQ understands flawless technique to be a pre-requisite for tackling these pieces, not an end in and of itself. They also highlight Beethoven's revolutionary bent--their readings are more in line with their namesake than with, say, Schubert or Mendelssohn. The "Grosse Fuge" and Op. 131 are particularly convincing, but there is not a dud in the set. And if you absolutely must have your Beethoven old-fashioned, then dig all the way back to the Busch Quartet for watershed performances.
 Ordinary February 22, 2005
10 out of 26 found this review helpful
I purchased this product after reading the reviews of several customers. As the product offered the complete string quartets, I anticipated delivery with alacrity. I was, however, rather disappointed. The compositions are, naturally, of the highest order. The performance of the Alban Berg Quartet is hardly resplendant. Illustrative is the performance of the C sharp minor which lacks the passion essential in a work of this complexity. Though offering only the late works, I prefer the recordings of the Emerson Quartet.
 Interesting reading January 2, 2005
5 out of 9 found this review helpful
This is a really fine reading of the Beethoven Quartets. There is a lot of refinement in the string playing, especially in the slow mvt of Op.132--bow changes are hardly heard, and the dynamic range is quite large. Also, the tempi were well chosen throughout. I don't have any complaints...a solid reading. One thing about you guys though--why has no one mentioned the fantastic reading by the Tokyo Quartet, I mean, come on...There version of the Beethoven quartets is absolutely indispensable...Am I wrong?....I don't think so.
The Best Overall December 10, 2004
59 out of 66 found this review helpful
This quartet made a deep impression on me. I have listened to performances by Quartetto Italiano, Emerson, Amadeus, Cleveland, Lindsey, Vegh, Budapest and others and although each quartet has it's strengths, I believe the Berg Quartet gives the best overall performance of these works.
This remarkable ensemble seems to propel the music forward with a jet-engine thrust, while at the same time paying the greatest attention to detail, without getting lost in the minutia. By comparison, other quartets tend to sound rather square.
If you want depth of feeling, hair raising excitement, and a positively authoritative performance of Beethoven's greatest works, you honestly can't do better than the ABQ.
By the way, did I mention the tone? The tone, the tone, Oh God the tone.
Enjoy.
|
|
|
Powered by Associate-O-Matic
| | |
