The Takacs Quartet Play Late Beethoven

Do I really need another complete Beethoven string quartet cycle? Of course. And since the Takacs Quartet’s recordings of the early and middle quartets have impressed me mightily – the combination of technically accomplished playing, tight-knit ensemble, rhythmically sure and punchy quick movements and measured slow movements, all delivered in excellent sound have won me over – I figured sampling their take on the late quartets couldn’t hurt. The first ten quartets pretty much move from strength to strength, and certainly not one of the works receives anything less than near top-flight performance, so my expectations for the late quartets were understandably very high. My expectations were not met.

The very strengths the Takacs displayed in the earlier quartets certainly benefit the late quartets, but they do not suffice by themselves, and the Takacs don’t seem to have any other tricks up their sleeves. Where is the searching playing in the slow movements? If ever there were pieces that demand players reach for something beyond what can be properly notated in a score, the late quartets are those pieces. The Takacs just never seem to show that intangible something that, say, the Vegh, the Budapest, the Talich, or the Hungarian Quartets do.

It’s not that the recordings are bad or even absolutely disappointing. The Op 95 fares quite well, but then it’s not quite as demanding as the later works. Here the Takacs’ collective strengths pay dividends. But the three quartet stretch from Op 127 to Op 131 sags. (I’m not including the Grosse Fuge, because no ensemble makes me like that piece.) In each case, the slow movements suffer, and even the faster ones do at times. Rather than delve into every detail, I’ll sum them up by describing the problems with 131. And nowhere are the problems more apparent than in the second Adagio section of the fourth movement. Where are the terse, or at least pointed five note cello figures that so effectively punctuate this section? Yes, they are played, but in a subdued, almost half-assed manner, the last one aside. I assume that was the intended effect. But then the answers from the first violin don’t really inspire one very much, either. The Presto, ah, now if the Takacs could make any movement in this work sound good, this is it. But it’s strangely mushy and wimpy. The shortcomings in the preceding two works are variations on the same themes.

Redemption comes in the great A minor quartet, though. I was really expecting this to be a let-down, but the Takacs pull it off! There is an intensity to their playing, both fast and slow, lacking in the previous works. The gigantic central movement is an unqualified success; it does contain that ultimately indefinable something; it is searching, moving, and beautiful. The conclusion, too, meets one’s expectations. The Op 135 opens in a most promising way, and the jaunty little second movement reinforces solid first impression, but alas the musical solidity weakens a bit in the last two movements. The third movement again lacks for enough musical depth, and the finale is filled with some extended chords in an obvious attempt to foster a sense of drama. It’s still a good performance, but it ain’t at the top of the heap.

Perhaps I’m being too critical. After all, all of the pieces are technically well dispatched, and the playing lacks the emotional impact of only the very best recordings. But then, these are Beethoven’s late quartets, and only the very best will do. I’ll be hanging on to the set and relistening to it – who knows, maybe it’s one of those recordings that takes time for one to appreciate – but for now I place it in the second tier, if you will. It’s not that lonely a place, what with the Juilliard’s 60s set also resident in this less exalted tier, but for the most satisfying recordings, I will listen to others. At least the Takacs recorded some astounding early and mid quartets.