Beethoven's String Quartets

[Jo498]

Late Haydn actually wrote in similarly or more remote keys in some slow movements, e.g. E major in g minor op.74/3, B major in the E flat op.76/6, E flat in the G major 77/1 and D major in the F major 77/2 (and D flat in the trio!) or E major in the E flat piano sonata 52/62.

And menuet in 2nd position is nothing special either. Beethoven probably does it here because of the "model" Mozart's K 464. But in Haydn's quartets it was very common (although mostly in earlier works, his last completed op.77/2 also has the "menuet" (actually a presto scherzo) in 2nd.

But certainly, Beethoven's op. 18 has lots and lots of ambitious and original aspects. If one listens A-B with some late Haydn or Mozart one will certainly hear Beethoven's own voice.

[SurprisedByBeauty]

The #BeethovenStringQuartetCycleSurvey has received its most massive update in years!

My contribution to mankind. 


New: Beethoven String Quartet, Ébène, Miró, Kuss Quartet's, Stanislas, Casals.
Re-issues: Lindsay, Alban Berg, Juilliard I, Pascal, Smetana II.
Historical: Dimov Q4t

[Scion7]

My contribution to the Unified Field Theory. 

Nice work - I would flesh out the section on the Guarneri Quartet I's Late Quartets, tho' - these are always very high on the critics list, and rightly so.

[JBS]

The #BeethovenStringQuartetCycleSurvey has received its most massive update in years!

My contribution to mankind. 


New: Beethoven String Quartet, Ébène, Miró, Kuss Quartet's, Stanislas, Casals.
Re-issues: Lindsay, Alban Berg, Juilliard I, Pascal, Smetana II.
Historical: Dimov Q4t

FYI I checked out the Beethoven Quartet set via the Amazon links in the survey

Unfortunately:
Amazon USA--currently unavailable
Amazon UK--currently unavailable
Amazon DE--available but can't be shipped to my location (ie USA)
"Currently unavailable" is if course their way of saying "we don't have, may never have it, don't bother looking here for it"

So either it's oop again or war related sanctions make it impossible to get here.

[SurprisedByBeauty]

FYI I checked out the Beethoven Quartet set via the Amazon links in the survey

Unfortunately:
Amazon USA--currently unavailable
Amazon UK--currently unavailable
Amazon DE--available but can't be shipped to my location (ie USA)
"Currently unavailable" is if course their way of saying "we don't have, may never have it, don't bother looking here for it"

So either it's oop again or war-related sanctions make it impossible to get here.

Your latter guess is the correct one, alas. Because of the (be it voluntary or directed) sanctions against Russian companies (which saw Melodiya's distribution dropped) and the general difficulty/impossibility to send much of anything from Russia to the West, currently, the war is currently the culprit. Hopefully - more as to relates to Ukraine than Beethoven, granted - that's change soon!

[SurprisedByBeauty]

Nice work - I would flesh out the section on the Guarneri Quartet I's Late Quartets, tho' - these are always very high on the critics list, and rightly so.

Thanks! It's been such a long time since I have listened to it, that I just don't even remember a memory of a response to it. But you are right; perhaps I should seek out some good reviews and link them.

[Pohjolas Daughter]

The #BeethovenStringQuartetCycleSurvey has received its most massive update in years!

My contribution to mankind. 


New: Beethoven String Quartet, Ébène, Miró, Kuss Quartet's, Stanislas, Casals.
Re-issues: Lindsay, Alban Berg, Juilliard I, Pascal, Smetana II.
Historical: Dimov Q4t

I hadn't heard of the Beethoven String Quartet before now; I'll have to do some googling (after finishing my first mug of coffee    ).

And you must have been cooking up a storm as we haven't seen you for a while! 

Welcome back!

PD

[SurprisedByBeauty]

I hadn't heard of the Beethoven String Quartet before now; I'll have to do some googling (after finishing my first mug of coffee    ).

Welcome back!

PD

Thanks!

The Beethoven Quartet was, as you will have read by now, an absolute mainstay of Soviet Cultural life; THE quartet next to the Shostakovich and Borodin Quartets.

It is not, however, (by all appearances) identical to the Beethoven Quartet of which Piatigorsky was the cellist for a brief time (a.k.a. the Lenin Quartet / First State String Quartet).

If anyone knows what became of that ensemble, I'd love to know.

[Pohjolas Daughter]

Thanks!

The Beethoven Quartet was, as you will have read by now, an absolute mainstay of Soviet Cultural life; THE quartet next to the Shostakovich and Borodin Quartets.

It is not, however, (by all appearances) identical to the Beethoven Quartet of which Piatigorsky was the cellist for a brief time (a.k.a. the Lenin Quartet / First State String Quartet).

If anyone knows what became of that ensemble, I'd love to know.

It would be quite interesting to hear (at least) some of their recordings.  I noticed elsewhere that you had a CD set of their Beethoven ones.  How did you like the performances and also what did you think of the sound?

PD

[George]

The #BeethovenStringQuartetCycleSurvey has received its most massive update in years!

My contribution to mankind. 


New: Beethoven String Quartet, Ébène, Miró, Kuss Quartet's, Stanislas, Casals.
Re-issues: Lindsay, Alban Berg, Juilliard I, Pascal, Smetana II.
Historical: Dimov Q4t

Hey Jens!

Hope all is well. Thanks to your bump, I am enjoying the early Budapest recordings on Sony Masterworks.

[SurprisedByBeauty]

It would be quite interesting to hear (at least) some of their recordings.  I noticed elsewhere that you had a CD set of their Beethoven ones.  How did you like the performances and also what did you think of the sound?

PD

I've been listening to them non-stop since I got the set the day yesterday or the day before. I'm having a lot of fun with their engaging, wild Beethoven. Although just as I write this, some of the inner voices of the Cavatina were getting a little too excited. :-)

Sound is quite good, compared to Vegh II and Hungarian (not as good as the Juilliard's).

I won't pretend these will change your world - but I certainly know that I'm enjoying the heck out of them right now, all the same.

[Pohjolas Daughter]

I've been listening to them non-stop since I got the set the day yesterday or the day before. I'm having a lot of fun with their engaging, wild Beethoven. Although just as I write this, some of the inner voices of the Cavatina were getting a little too excited. :-)

Sound is quite good, compared to Vegh II and Hungarian (not as good as the Juilliard's).

I won't pretend these will change your world - but I certainly know that I'm enjoying the heck out of them right now, all the same.

Delighted to hear that you are enjoying them!

By the way, I mentioned a recording that I had heard today of Beethoven's No. 5 on the current listening thread.  You might be interested in reading it.  If so, I'm curious to know as to whether or not you have heard it before.  No idea how many the group recorded.  I did see three of them listed on Discogs.

PD

[SurprisedByBeauty]

Delighted to hear that you are enjoying them!

By the way, I mentioned a recording that I had heard today of Beethoven's No. 5 on the current listening thread.  You might be interested in reading it.  If so, I'm curious to know as to whether or not you have heard it before.  No idea how many the group recorded.  I did see three of them listed on Discogs.

PD

Yes, I listened to that recording on YouTube! Thank God not another cycle. I hope. :-)

[Pohjolas Daughter]

Yes, I listened to that recording on YouTube! Thank God not another cycle. I hope. :-)

lol     Did you enjoy it (if you remember)?

PD

[SurprisedByBeauty]

lol     Did you enjoy it (if you remember)?

PD

I listened to it in the background, tbh, but yes, I did enjoy it.

Meanwhile, more updates were made: Three more quartets added... two rather arcane cycles and one incomplete set, because it's just so deserving!

Also: How is there not a single HIP LvB SQ4t Cycles???

[Todd]

Also: How is there not a single HIP LvB SQ4t Cycles???

Good fortune.

[SurprisedByBeauty]

Good fortune.

 

[Raymond]

They absolutely are all worth knowing. There are the six of Op.18, called the Early Quartets. All very fine and an advance on any previous string quartets (e.g. Haydn, Mozart, superb as they are). Then the three of Op. 59, called the Middle Period Quartets, then Op. 74 and 95, (the latter sometimes included with the Late Quartets). Then the Late Quartets are Opp. 127, 130, 131, 132 and 135.
There are numerous recordings of the complete quartets, none of them duds. I just happen to have the Talich Quartet, The Quartetto Italiano and the Takacs Quartet.
Hope that helps.

[Florestan]

They absolutely are all worth knowing. There are the six of Op.18, called the Early Quartets. All very fine and an advance on any previous string quartets (e.g. Haydn, Mozart, superb as they are). Then the three of Op. 59, called the Middle Period Quartets, then Op. 74 and 95, (the latter sometimes included with the Late Quartets). Then the Late Quartets are Opp. 127, 130, 131, 132 and 135.
There are numerous recordings of the complete quartets, none of them duds. I just happen to have the Talich Quartet, The Quartetto Italiano and the Takacs Quartet.
Hope that helps.

I'm not sure whom is that supposed to help. 

[prémont]

There are numerous recordings of the complete quartets, none of them duds. I just happen to have the Talich Quartet, The Quartetto Italiano and the Takacs Quartet.
Hope that helps.

I'm not sure whom is that supposed to help. 

There are two possibilities. Either it's the remark that none of the numerous recordings of the complete quartets is a dud (provided Raymond have heard all about 50 sets), or it may be that the fact that he has Talich, Italiano and Takacs will turn out to be helpful to him.