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Beethoven: The Late Quartets
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Barnes and Noble
Beethoven: The Late Quartets
Current price: $29.99
Barnes and Noble
Beethoven: The Late Quartets
Current price: $29.99
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There is absolutely no shortage of
string quartet recordings, and a new set by the promisingly awarded but not terribly well-known
may not stir up much interest. Furthermore, the group plunges in with the late quartets for its opening volume; many quartets wait until well into mid-career to take on these profound works, but anyone giving this set a miss will be deprived of an extraordinary chamber music experience. The players have clearly thought through every phrase of the music, with electric results. Sometimes it is a matter of sheer clarity. Consider the difficult
, all too often a mass of undifferentiated sound. Listeners may be surprised to find that the
's performance is half a minute faster than average, even with the careful separation of the polyphonic lines.
's transcendent simple melodies and soaring variation sets are deeply felt; the magnificent Lydian prayer of the middle movement of the
, is never overdone and is gripping indeed. In general, the
leans toward delicacy rather than extremity. Consider the Scherzo of the
, where the abrupt flat seventh unison is done in such a way that it can fade gracefully back to normalcy. Possibly those who prefer really radical versions of these works may find the
a bit sedate, but there are so many wonderful moments to discover that even those listeners should hear these recordings. This is not the
's debut release, but it announces a major new presence on the chamber music scene. ~ James Manheim