Quartet recommendations please

There's no better place to start than here:

Somehow, I knew you'd say that EW - however, I would personally start with the 'late' quartets volume - that said the Takacs quartet are probably very fine anywhere.

I'd also check out the Schubert quartets, I'm very fond of the Lindsays 4 disc set of 'late' quartets, which can be had at budget price (and in its bright orange box is hard to miss).

regards, Tam

Hello Milo

Please may I humbly suggest that you peruse the classical section of the Naim Label's catalogue?

We have recorded the Allegri Quartet seven times, click here for the section on our website:

naim allegri discs

The Allegri are the UKs longest running quartet, having been founded in 1954.

You can even be topical, the latest one was recorded as a 250th anniversary tribute to Mozart's birth.

Anna

I'd pick a few of the great string quartets by various composers rather than boxed sets of any one composer. My choices for a start would include Mozart K.42l and 465, Beethoven C-sharp Minor Quartet, Op. l3l(in my view the greatest string quartet ever written), the Ravel and Debussy quartets, and the Bartok 6th Quartet. That would give you a nice overview of various styles and allow you to learn the quartet form by listening to these incomparable.
masterpieces. There are some string Quintets that are spectacular as well-Mozart K.5l5/5l6 and the Schubert String Quintet.

If you are new to chamber music I would also explore some of the great piano trios, quartets and quintets , including the Beethoven Archduke trio (which gets my vote for the greatest piano trio ever written), both Mendelssohn Piano Trios Trios, and the Brahms Op.8. I'm partial to the Florestan Trio. Also the two Mozart Piano Quartets are wonderful. Finally, the Schubert Trout Quintet and the Schumann Quintet are outstanding.

Finally, some piano and violin sonatas---Beethoven 5, 9, and my favorite, number l0, and the Brahms violin sonatas.

Chamber music is a whole world of great music that all the greatest composers seemed to excell in and I can still recall the thrill of discovering these amazing works for the first time.

I noticed you also asked about chamber works for winds--my favorites are both by Mozart---K.452 Quintet for Piano and Winds and K.361, the so-called "Gran Partita" for winds, both amazing pieces. Scubert also wrote a beautiful Octet for winds.

I should also mention the gorgeous performance of the Schubert Octet on Decca Legends by the Vienna Octet, led by Willi Boskovsky. A classic.

quote:

Originally posted by Tam:
Somehow, I knew you'd say that EW - however, I would personally start with the 'late' quartets volume - that said the Takacs quartet are probably very fine anywhere.

You could start with the late quartets, but that's what you CALL jumping in at the deep end!!

The Razumovsky Quartets are some of the best in the literature and are generally well liked - even by people who don't generally like quartet music. They combine the utmost delicacy with white heat, have some great tunes, and the Takacs Quartet make the strongest case for them of any on record.

Late Beethoven is the best music ever written, but not, perhaps, the best place to start; even Beethoven himself had to work up to it!

And yes I know I'm getting predictable, I'm just waiting for Fredrik to jump up and assail me for being repetitive as usual!

EW

This is great. Many thanks for your suggestions.

Many wonderful suggestions here, many of which I'd echo.

At the top of my list would be the Ravel and Debussy quartets ... both pure magic.

Late Beethoven ... despite Earwicker's advice not to start there, I say go ahead, start there ... why not? A lot of music has gone under the bridge since then, and it will pave the way nicely for Bartok.

Finally, Webern ... never mind the serialism, these are delicate miniatures, akin to haiku.

By the way, I'd second Anna's suggestion of the Allegri Quartet, right here at home on Naim.

Dear Milo,

I am only going to suggest one pair of quartets to you and one specific performance at that, which happans to be utterly splendid.

Joseph Haydn's String Quartets Opus 77 No 1 in G and No 2 in F.

The Mosaiques Quartetet are recorded on Astree Auvidis E 8799.

The music represents the last completed statements in the medium of Haydn, who wrote about seventy of them, and, like his symphonies, they are wonderful, but far less popular than Mozart's for reasons that I don't comprehend. Certainly it is not the quality or the appproachability.

For once I am going to say something about the recording as well the performance.

Firstly this a period instrument quartet, but fear not. They are some of the most wonderfully tonally variegated performances you will encounter. Even though relatively new the Mosaiques recording is one of the great performances of these truly great and warmly approachable works. It is rare that quartets seem to get a truly apt recoeding. For once the scale is chamber, but without any sense of cramping the players into a small room. The balances are exemplary (reflecting the performance I would think!), and the whole disc makes a perfect entree to the medium of the Quartet, and some all to often passed over music.

I hope you buy it. I also have the Tatrai Quartet (on Hungaraton) and the Pro Arte Quartet (on Testamant and originally recorded for HMV in the 30s), and all three have considerable strengths, but as a single recomendation I think it makes a wonderful first contact.

All the best from Fredrik

PS: There is a splendid note by Robbins Landon, the great Haydn Scholar, which will take you far in terms of Beethoven and so forth for further investigation!

Another recommendation: Art of the Fugue - Keller Quartet




Transcendent transcription of Bach's keyboard masterpiece.

Fred

A few suggestions:

Haydn – Op 1; Petersen Quartet
Haydn – Op 20; Mosaiques
Haydn – Op 33; Mosaiques
Haydn – Op 50; Kodaly
Haydn – Op 64; Tatrai
Haydn – Op 76; Tatrai
Haydn – Op 77; L’Archibudelli

Mozart – “Haydn” Quartets; Budapest Quartet (Sony) if you can stand good mono, the Talich if you need stereo

Beethoven – Complete; Vegh (stereo)
Beethoven – Early; Takacs
Beethoven – Middle; Takacs
Beethoven – Late; Budapest Quartet (Bridge)

Dvorak – No 10 & after (Czech ensembles, starting with the Talich)
Smetana – 1 & 2; Skampa


“Modern” Quartets
Bartok – Complete; Takacs (Decca) or Vegh (stereo)
Shostakovich – Complete; Emerson
Szymanowski – 1 & 2; Maggini
Schulhoff – 1 & 2; Petersen (very accessible but “modern”)
Scelsi – Complete; Arditti
Hartmann – Pelligrini
Hartmann 1 & Bartok 4 – Zehetmair
Villa-Lobos – Complete; Cuarteto Latinoamericano
Ginastera – 1, 2, & 3; Cuarteto Latinoamericano



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Todd, why Takacs for early and middle Beethoven, but Budapest for late? Why not Takacs for late as well?

Just curious.

Fred

quote:

Originally posted by Fredrik_Fiske:
Joseph Haydn's String Quartets Opus 77 No 1 in G and No 2 in F.

Good idea, I love the Op77 quartets!

quote:

Originally posted by fred simon:
why Takacs for early and middle Beethoven, but Budapest for late? Why not Takacs for late as well?

Why not indeed, the Takacs quartet's recording of the complete cycle is the best I've heard accross the board. You'll miss out if you go elsewhere for your late Beethoven (I know, I've got 9 different recordings of the last five quartets!).

If you're thinking of buying, try hmv.co.uk - the Takacs set - 3 CDs from Op95 - 135 was on offer for £15.99...

EW

I really appreciate your suggestions folks; many thanks.

Just need to get shopping now

quote:

Originally posted by fred simon:
Todd, why Takacs for early and middle Beethoven, but Budapest for late? Why not Takacs for late as well?

Because the Takacs recording of the late quartets are not worth the outlay. I was and remain disappointed with them. The Takacs handle the technical aspects well, but are shallow. The Op 131, in particular, is poor in terms of musical and spiritual qualities. For whatever reason, they just miss. That's why I chose the Vegh for the complete set. I could also throw in the Talich, the Hungarian, and the Juilliard (60s) as being preferable overall to the Takacs.

I should say that I find the Budapest Quartet the best in every quartet I've heard from them, and the only reason I gave the Takacs the edge over the Budapest in the middle is because most people want modern sound. I couldn't possibly bring myself to do the same in the late quartets. The Bridge set of the middle quartets (and the late quartets) are in mostly ancient sound. In terms of overall performance quality, the Budapest are altogether superior to the Takacs in every regard. Indeed, if Sony ever reissues the Budapest's mono cycle, that will almost assuredly be the one to have.


--

If you want a single CD to buy to get started, to enjoy and build upon, I agree with Fredrik. The Haydn he recommends is wonderful.

If you like it, you will also almost certainly like the Mozart and the early Beethoven. This would lead you to later Beethoven and Schubert [music that can take you to heaven] and safely onto Mendelssohn, maybe even Brahms.

The first step into Modern could safely be Debussy or Ravel or Janacek. Modern is where it could get complicated: anything goes, from tonal to atonal, harmony to dissonance etc. But you say you like classical and romantic so the Modern [and Post-Modern] are probably delights in store for later.

Enjoy your journey. It is one I began about 5 or 6 years ago and it changed the way I listen to the world.

SJ

PS Todd's lists are always good value

quote:

Originally posted by Todd Arola:

quote:

Originally posted by fred simon:
Todd, why Takacs for early and middle Beethoven, but Budapest for late? Why not Takacs for late as well?

Because the Takacs recording of the late quartets are not worth the outlay. I was and remain disappointed with them. The Takacs handle the technical aspects well, but are shallow.

Do you think so? Ah well, if we all had the same taste...!

On the subject of hungarian quartets and outlay, the Kodaly Quartet's budget set (Naxos) are pretty damn good, and the New Budapest Quartet (Hyperion when I bought mine but now, I gather, on some subsidiary budget label) are also great in a highly refined kind of way; one of the best modern Op 131s I've heard.

There aren't many who share Todd's opinion of the Takacs though, and last time I looked hmv were selling their late set via their website for £15.99... so I bought one meself!!

EW

Back on topic, Haydn's Op 20 "Sun Quartets" helped get me hooked, and I think Fredrik's already recommended the wonderful Op77s.

EW

Dear EW, and Milo,

EW and I obviously agree that the Quartets of Haydn make a splendid starting point, and if you start here you will never leave, just investigate outwards! I personally love the Quartets of Haydn above all others, though I would not want to be deprived of those by Beethoven, or Schubert either, though I don't have many Schubert Quartet performances...

All the best from Fredrik

Do give the Fitzwilliam Quartet's complete Shostakovich cycle a go. Wondeful music making, one of the few sets I have on LP, cassette and CD.

It is a quintet, nevertheless wonderful. These are newly discovered pieces in an unsigned manuscript in Madrid. It is one of the last performances of the flutist Jean Pierre Rampal.

Regards,

Haim

quote:

Do give the Fitzwilliam Quartet's complete Shostakovich cycle a go.

I can't recommend these highly enough.

They're not even expensive!

Shostakovich

I'm coming to this rather late, but here are my thoughts as to the vey best.

For the mature Mozart quartets, the Alban Berg Quartet's earlier Teldec recordings (on four CDs) are unlikely to be matched in the foreseeable future. Avoid their EMI remakes.

For Beethoven, the Busch Quartet's 1930's recordings were exemplary, but the sound is primitive. I can't imagine the Vegh Quartet's stereo set (Auvidis Caliope) being challenged, although the Quartetto Italiano (Philips) are uncommonly good, particularly in the late quartets, where their greater technique brings rewards.

Schubert was a great composer of quartets in the last few years of his life, and his late masterpieces are brought marvellously to life by the Quartetto Italiano (Philips).

And every good collection requires the classic Debussy/Ravel coupling. I have, and love, the Quartetto Italiano (Philips) and the Alban Berg Quartet's (EMI) tapings. Great praise is also heaped upon the young Belcea Quartet's disc for EMI, which I haven't heard.

Graham