Fine Arts Quartet - Beethoven String Quartets anyone?

Sigmund

I haven't had chance to listen to them yet but I've just bought the FAQ's complete Beethoven on vinyl. It's on Everest; I wonder if it's the same set as yours? I'll let you know how I get on.

Chris

Well, I began my Beethoven quartet listening in the 60's with the FAG and I thought they were very good, although I had nothing to compare them with! I still recall the effect of listening for the first few times to the C-sharp minor Op.131 quartet, which I consider the greatest string quartet ever written. I also listened extensively to their Bartok set, which I thought was brilliant.

Fine Arts Quartet, but not Beethoven.

I have the Boston Skyline release of Reginald Kell, the great English Clarinetist, playing the Mozart and Brahms Quintets with the Fine Arts Quartet. The Brahms was a revisit to recording the work as he had already recorded it in London with the Busch Quartet in the 'thirties for HMV.

Both are most lovely performances, and the Mozart is a favourite of mine as well. The Fine Arts make a fascinating contrast to the Busch Quartet in the Brahms, as their style is essntially that of modern Quartet playing whereas the Busch play in different manner based on the Vienese Violon School of pre-1914 days. I would bet they have a very sane and orderly view of the Beethoven to contrast the wilder ideas of Busch or Vegh! They play very well in tune, which is not always the case with modern Quartet playing, where the slide is much less used than in past times. The slide is a huge assistance to playing in tune as it makes certain left hand possition shifts that much more accurate...

BSD 135 [A USA release]

ATB from Fredrik

Many people think that the Vegh Quartet's recordings from the early 1970s (on Auvidis/Valois) are the best ever recordings of the complete cycle.

They are wonderful, and I feel no need to change. But I haven't listened to every other set out there.

Graham