Petersen Quartet Beethoven

[Herman]

Lately I have been listening to the Petersen Quartet's Beethoven recordings on Capriccio, made between 1995 - 2000. These comprise the late quartets 172 - 135 coupled with the op. 18 quartets. It looks like the Petersen Quartet did not record the middle quartets; not even the Harp or Serioso.

That's too bad, because these are excellent recordings, the same way their Mozart recordings belong to the very top of the modern must-haves. Their Beethoven has drive and depth without going overboard. The Petersen recordings are an excellent complement or even antidote to the more monumental style of the Qt Italiano or Smetana Qt. Those sound old-fashioned by comparison.

The Petersen Quartet is an elusive bunch. Ulrike Petersen is currently back in the band, but for most of their recording career she was not. A big part of the PQ's character may or may not have been shaped by the violist Friedemann Weigle, who at some point moved on the other Berlin-based quaret, the Artemis Quartet, which, right or wrong, I tend to regard as the Petersen's sister quartet. (Weigle died in 2015, 53 years old.)

Copies of these Capriccio recordings are getting more scarce as time goes on, and if you come across one of these I would advise you to snap 'em up.

[Jo498]

The Petersen Quartet recorded op.59/2 and op.95 even before the other ones for Berlin Classics (or as this was 1989 more precisely Eterna, I guess), still with Ulrike Petersen.

The personnel for most recordings (ca. 1992-2000) was AFAIK

Conrad Muck
Gernot Süssmuth
Friedemann Weigle
Hans-Jakob Eschenburg

The earliest recordings (Mozart's "Haydn" quartets and LvB opp.59/2+95) had Petersen instead of Muck. The change took place in early 1992 as the disc with Mozart's "Prussian quartets" has Petersen in the first two and Muck in KV 590.

Beethoven op.18/3 + 127 and op.18/2+6 + 135 has Daniel Bell on Violin 2 and Jonas Krejci on 'cello (they joined ca. 2000). Weigle left and joined the Artemis Q in 2007. Petersen returned in 2008 but I don't think the "relaunch" succeeded. I cannot find more precise information but I think they have quietly disbanded at some time in the last 8 years. Wikipedia gives Ula Ulijona as viola after Weigle and Henry-David Varema as most recent cellist (but not since 2000 as Krejci is still listed for the 2002 Beethoven op.127).
The most recent recording I have is from late 2007 (Franck quartet and piano quintet) and has Muck, Bell, Weigle, Varema.

I have not heard all of their recordings but of the ones I have I don't dislike any. Of course most of this repertoire has a crowded discography (in Schulhoff, Krenek etc. the Petersen are probably often the best for lack of serious competition) but I think it holds up very well. It is a pity that 3 Beethoven quartets and Mozart K 499 are missing, also from Schubert only d minor and quintet, of Haydn only op.1! but they play those slight works with so much attention and verve that it is a great pity that they did not record any of the mature ones.

[Herman]

The Petersen Quartet recorded op.59/2 and op.95 even before the other ones for Berlin Classics (or as this was 1989 more precisely Eterna, I guess), still with Ulrike Petersen.

Thanks! Hopefully I will run into this disc sometime.

Petersen returned in 2008 but I don't think the "relaunch" succeeded. I cannot find more precise information but I think they have quietly disbanded at some time in the last 8 years.

There are some concert dates advertised for 2017, but it looks like they spend most of their time teaching.

[amw]

I've really enjoyed all the recordings of the Petersen Quartet that I've heard, and bootlegs of their live concerts even more (including one of the most remarkable performances ever of the Schubert Quintet imo). No idea why they fell apart but it's certainly a great shame.

Update: They didn't actually fall apart. There is a recording of the Schnittke Piano Quintet w Ewa Kupiec from 2013 and an album of music by the utterly unknown to me composer Fabian Müller from 2016. So I guess they're still out there, sorta.

[Jo498]

The Schnittke recording must be older (probably 2007) because the backcover has Muck and Weigle still listed. Dito the Müller ((P) 2004). I remember having read an interview with Ulrike Petersen shortly after she re-joined but there is nothing to be found about the quartet after ca. 2009 when Muck and Petersen played violin, Uljona viola and Varema cello.

(scroll down a bit to July 30th)
https://www.audi.de/de/audi-artexperience/sommerkonzerte-2017/konzertarchiv/archiv-2009.html

Muck apparently has replaced Arzberger (the guy who got into trouble in NYC two years ago and had to quit) in the Leipzig quartet since 2015/16; in the biography he is listed as Primarius for the Petersen-Quartett until 2009.

[asin]B005VU41W2[/asin]

here a link to the Beethoven op.59,2/95
[asin]B001B2RB6C[/asin]

Maybe I just can't find any more recent info and they certainly seem to have been active in 2009 but they must have been lying low for several years now.

Anyway, I'd say all of their recordings are at least worth checking out, not only the Beethoven. As good as a lot of their Beethoven is, naturally there is far more competition for Beethoven than for Schnittke or Krenek or even for Mozart's "Prussian" quartets. Their main "fault" for me is that sometimes they can be a little too much on the "lean and straightforward" side.

@amw: Do you have a link for the Schubert quintet bootleg?

[amw]

Yes, the Schnittke is apparently 2008, my mistake. The Müller just came out but I suppose the recordings have been in the pipeline for a while.

I'm doubtful of the legality of posting bootlegs publicly, but check your PMs in like, fifteen minutes or whatever <_<

[Herman]

Muck apparently has replaced Arzberger (the guy who got into trouble in NYC two years ago and had to quit) in the Leipzig quartet since 2015/16; in the biography he is listed as Primarius for the Petersen-Quartett until 2009.

That's right. It struck me as a strange move, since the Leipzig Quartet has a different aesthetic than the Petersen, experimenting with no-vibrato, for instance.

@amw: Do you have a link for the Schubert quintet bootleg?

I wouldn't mind getting closer to some of these live bootlegs either....

[Jo498]

I have heard the Leipzig once in concert (around 2005) but I think own only two of their older Schubert recordings (D 887 and 804). When these recordings where made (late 90s, I think) the Petersen was a far "leaner" sounding ensemble to my ears.

There is another quartet founded in 1980s East Berlin, the Vogler Quartett and they play with the same personnel since 1986. Maybe not quite as distinctive (more "middle of the road" than either Leipzig or Petersen, IMO), they are also very good and I enjoyed several of their recordings both on RCA and Hänssler. (They are doing a Dvorak cycle on cpo now.)

[Herman]

I have heard the Leipzig once in concert (around 2005) but I think own only two of their older Schubert recordings (D 887 and 804). When these recordings where made (late 90s, I think) the Petersen was a far "leaner" sounding ensemble to my ears.

I would say (also based on a couple of concerts I was at) that the Leipzig is more dedicated to absolute perfection of execution and thus somewhat more cautious, than the Petersen, who rock harder.

There is another quartet founded in 1980s East Berlin, the Vogler Quartett and they play with the same personnel since 1986. Maybe not quite as distinctive (more "middle of the road" than either Leipzig or Petersen, IMO), they are also very good and I enjoyed several of their recordings both on RCA and Hänssler. (They are doing a Dvorak cycle on cpo now.)

I love the Vogler Qt, too. Their Brahms / Schumann 3cd cycle on RCA is one of the very best.

It's really not so strange the Petersen Qt are not as active as a band as before. Life as a touring and recording string quartet, from what I have heard, is very tough. (The Arzberger debacle may in some weird way be a result of the strain.) The amazing thing is the Vogler still being together.

[Mandryka]

I have these bootlegs

Beethoven, Schulhoff & Ravel, July 21, 2001, Schloß Johannisberg
Schubert, Webern & Beethoven, November 17, 1996, Sendesaal des Kölner Funkhauses
Haydn, Reimann & Schumann, June 22, 2005,Schloss Waldhausen, Mainz-Budenheim
Krenek op. 6 & Schoenberg op. 10, January 8, 2004, Musée d'Orsay, Paris
Beethoven op. 18,2 & 135 and Krenek op. 6, November 17, 1996, Sendesaal des Kölner Funkhauses
Mozart K414 (for piano and string quartet)  & Shostakovich op 83 (with Steven Osborne), 25. May 2006 Schwetzinger Festspiele
Milhaud op. 5 & Chausson op. 21, Schloss Johannisberg 2004
Schubert D 887 & D 956, Schwetzingen 1999

[Jo498]

As I am not sure about the legal status of trading bootlegs we probably should stop discussing this openly... but I'd be very interested in a chance to listen to some them...

Their discography is not small, despite some gaps, 30+ discs.
I have in my collection unless I am overlooking anything:

Haydn op.1
Mozart "Haydn" and Prussian" quartets
Boccherini: one disc with 4 quartets and one with 4 quintets
all their Beethoven (opp.18/5,59/1+3 and 74 are missing)
Schubert D 810 (+Matthus) and String quintet
Schumann op.41/1 + Grieg
Franck quartet and piano quintet
Schulhoff: quartets 1+2
Milhaud: quartet #1

I think I have almost all of their recordings of pre-20th century repertoire (except for Schumann's 3rd quartet they have on a disc mixed with songs) but there is some more 20th century music. An early Berg/Janacek/Dutilleux disc, another with Janacek/Haas, Ravel, more Schulhoff, Krenek, Blacher, Schönberg #2 with Christine Schäfer, 2 discs Shostakovich (one with a piece by Auerbach) and the Schnittke and Müller mentioned above.

[snyprrr]

I would say (also based on a couple of concerts I was at, that the Leipzig is more dedeicated to absolute perfection of execution and thus somewhat more cautious, than the Peterson, who rock harder.

I love the Vogler Qt, too. Their Brahms / Schumann 3cd cycle on RCA is one of the very best.

It's really not so strange the Petersen Qt are not as active as a band as before. Life as a touring and recording string quartet, from what I have heard, is very tough. (The Arzberger debacle may in some weird way be a result of the strain.) The amazing thing is the Vogler still being together.

Vogler, Petersen, Leipz... ahhhhh....

Vogler = DSCH 11

Petersen = Schullhoff & Krenek

Liepz = well,... I always tend towards Arditti, especially in Schoenberg...

[Todd]

I've got a big slug of the Petersen's output and generally love their work, but for some reason the 18/3, 127 LvB disc left me cold.  Their Mozart and Haydn are just about my favorite recordings of the works they recorded, and the Boccherini quintets and French composer trio discs are also excellent.  Their Schulhoff has been impossible for the few other ensembles that have recorded any of the music to come close to matching.  I've used the String Quartets 1 & 2 disc as a test disc for stereo gear since I got it in the 90s.  On lesser gear it sounds thin and wiry, and on better gear it sounds sublime.  As Jo498 points out, their discography is not small, and it's also quite diverse.  The world needs more ensembles like them.

[Jo498]

As I remember the op.18/3 is curiously slow; I'd have to revisit their Beethoven but I think my favorite Beethoven of theirs is op.18/1 + 131. The op.130 is also interesting as it must have one the fastest Cavatinas and also a very flowing slow intro of the first movement. Their last two Beethoven discs (18/3 +127 and 135+18,2+6) were among their first recordings after the changes at 2nd violin and cello, so this could be a reason why they are not as convincing.

As for the Haydn op.1, they play it better than the music actually is... it's really a pity that they never recorded any mature Haydn.
I alway meant to get the Krenek and the other Schulhoff disk as well as Blacher because they are about the only recordings of the music but I never got around.

Interesting remark re the sound. I also find that they can sound somewhat wiry on mid-fi components (like my computer speakers) and overall they tend to a leaner sound than e.g. the Leipzig (not to speak of Quartetto Italiano)

[Herman]

As I remember the op.18/3 is curiously slow; I'd have to revisit their Beethoven but I think my favorite Beethoven of theirs is op.18/1 + 131. The op.130 is also interesting as it must have one the fastest Cavatinas and also a very flowing slow intro of the first movement. Their last two Beethoven discs (18/3 +127 and 135+18,2+6) were among their first recordings after the changes at 2nd violin and cello, so this could be a reason why they are not as convincing.

What I find is things aren't etched in stone, which is why I hardly ever sell cds. At some later point I may find they are terrific.

The Petersen's 135 is wonderful in my view. Not showoffy; serene rather than sentimental 3d mvt.

Nothing comes close to the Budapest 1943, but this is pretty close.