Am I the only one who has heard this recording of the LvB late quartets?

[lisa needs braces]

spotify:album:33Y5IX9Gj7iohnLIejbwXU

https://www.amazon.com/Beethoven-String-Quartets-T%C3%B8nnesen-Orchestra/dp/B00I4UP8QO/ref=sr_1_1?s=dmusic&ie=UTF8&qid=1505603376&sr=1-1-mp3-albums-bar-strip-0&keywords=beethoven+late+quartets+string+orchestra

https://www.gramophone.co.uk/review/beethoven-string-quartets-nos-12-16

This is my go to recording for these works of art. The physical recording of these works I own is a complete set from Nimbus records by some obscure quartet.

[Monsieur Croche]

spotify:album:33Y5IX9Gj7iohnLIejbwXU

https://www.amazon.com/Beethoven-String-Quartets-T%C3%B8nnesen-Orchestra/dp/B00I4UP8QO/ref=sr_1_1?s=dmusic&ie=UTF8&qid=1505603376&sr=1-1-mp3-albums-bar-strip-0&keywords=beethoven+late+quartets+string+orchestra

https://www.gramophone.co.uk/review/beethoven-string-quartets-nos-12-16

This is my go to recording for these works of art. The physical recording of these works I own is a complete set from Nimbus records by some obscure quartet.

"Am I the only one here who has heard this...?"
Mebbe.

An aside; Why anyone would want to hear these in a string orchestral arrangement is totally beyond me... mais, chacun à son goût.

[Turner]

spotify:album:33Y5IX9Gj7iohnLIejbwXU

https://www.amazon.com/Beethoven-String-Quartets-T%C3%B8nnesen-Orchestra/dp/B00I4UP8QO/ref=sr_1_1?s=dmusic&ie=UTF8&qid=1505603376&sr=1-1-mp3-albums-bar-strip-0&keywords=beethoven+late+quartets+string+orchestra

https://www.gramophone.co.uk/review/beethoven-string-quartets-nos-12-16

This is my go to recording for these works of art. The physical recording of these works I own is a complete set from Nimbus records by some obscure quartet.

I own it too and like what I heard. Overall, I tend to prefer the quartet versions, though.
Am no specialized collector in this music, but should I currently grab one, I´d go for the Yale set. Also have the Italian4, Budapest4 and Suske4 sets. 

[Spineur]

I did hear an arrangement for string orchestra of the Op132 once.  The adagio is supposed to describe the convalescence after an illness.  The SQ with its fragility and intimacy is perfect to express this feeling of the "returning strength".  You loose all this with string orchestra.  I stick to the SQ version.

[(poco) Sforzando]

spotify:album:33Y5IX9Gj7iohnLIejbwXU

https://www.amazon.com/Beethoven-String-Quartets-T%C3%B8nnesen-Orchestra/dp/B00I4UP8QO/ref=sr_1_1?s=dmusic&ie=UTF8&qid=1505603376&sr=1-1-mp3-albums-bar-strip-0&keywords=beethoven+late+quartets+string+orchestra

https://www.gramophone.co.uk/review/beethoven-string-quartets-nos-12-16

This is my go to recording for these works of art. The physical recording of these works I own is a complete set from Nimbus records by some obscure quartet.

I prefer the version for brass quintet.

[Parsifal]

I do have a few recordings of Beethoven Quartets performed by string orchestra, conducted by Bernstein and Dohnanyi (and of course the Grosse Fuge is often performed by string orchestra). However in those cases, the "arrangement" consists mainly in assigning the four parts of the quartets to four string sections and judiciously deciding when the basses should double the cellos. They are interesting performances, although I think something is lost when the intimacy of a string quartet is replaced by a larger ensemble.

Reading the notes for the recordings linked, the arranger has recast the pieces as concerti grossi, in which a small ensemble is contrasted with the full ensemble. I'm more leary about someone who thinks he can 'improve' Beethoven's greatest works. The fact that the quartets are conceived as a conversation among four independent voices is central to them.

[millionrainbows]

I would not want the string orchestra arrangements to replace the quartets. All the intimacy would be lost, and a lot of the clarity.

[amw]

The physical recording of these works I own is a complete set from Nimbus records by some obscure quartet.

That would be either the Medici Quartet or the Wihan Quartet, and to be honest, I'd rate both as superior to the Camerata Nordica recordings.

I do enjoy the Nordica late quartets, which have been genuinely reconceived as orchestral music rather than chamber works blown up with some extra instruments. I think they gain in dramatic contrast and dynamic force. What's lost is basically the transcendence and intimacy of the original conception. Tønnesen's concept, imo, would have worked much better for the Op. 18 quartets.

The Medici Quartet meanwhile has a great sense of tight-knit ensemble and a feathery weightlessness to some of their playing, even if they aren't always perfectly in tune. Not the last word in power (they're not the Emersons or Takács) or perfect ensemble (they're not the Hungarians or Belceas) but also no real misfires. The Wihan Quartet achieves the same level of quasi-orchestral power as the Camerata Nordica (although they leave out the replacement finale to Op. 130, but then Camerata Nordica does too); their playing actually lacks some of the quartet intimacy but in its best moments can be extraordinarily passionate in a way that's hard for a string orchestra to replicate (e.g. in the Cavatina). They're also not always perfectly in tune, either. >.>

[lisa needs braces]

That would be either the Medici Quartet or the Wihan Quartet, and to be honest, I'd rate both as superior to the Camerata Nordica recordings.

I do enjoy the Nordica late quartets, which have been genuinely reconceived as orchestral music rather than chamber works blown up with some extra instruments. I think they gain in dramatic contrast and dynamic force. What's lost is basically the transcendence and intimacy of the original conception. Tønnesen's concept, imo, would have worked much better for the Op. 18 quartets.

The Medici Quartet meanwhile has a great sense of tight-knit ensemble and a feathery weightlessness to some of their playing, even if they aren't always perfectly in tune. Not the last word in power (they're not the Emersons or Takács) or perfect ensemble (they're not the Hungarians or Belceas) but also no real misfires. The Wihan Quartet achieves the same level of quasi-orchestral power as the Camerata Nordica (although they leave out the replacement finale to Op. 130, but then Camerata Nordica does too); their playing actually lacks some of the quartet intimacy but in its best moments can be extraordinarily passionate in a way that's hard for a string orchestra to replicate (e.g. in the Cavatina). They're also not always perfectly in tune, either. >.>

An informative post. That Nimbus set has served me well in the 13 years since I picked it up at a Tower Records (miss those places.) It also contained a recording of the string quintet opus 29, which I think I'll listen to now...