Listening order for Beethoven's String Quartets (a follow up thread)

[Robert]

  Have no fears -abe- I usually relisten to all my cds (I only have about 400) multiple times.  I will go back to these early quartets and do another sweep.  I am new to these works and to chamber music in general, there is plenty of room for further appreciation of these works.

  marvin

Marvin,
My favorite is the Tokyo, I am hoping Quatour Mosaiques finishes the whole cycle.....

[marvinbrown]

You're in for a treat!

Glad to hear you are enjoying your SQ!!! 

  Last night I finished Op.18 (4-6), of these 6 was the most enjoyable and I would say my favorite of Op.18 and then I got to Op.59 "Rasumovsky"- and started with No.1, it was SUPERB!!!  I loved it so much that I replayed it again and then a third time then went off to bed....never really getting to Rasumovsky No.2 and No.3.....I'm falling behind in my listening schedule....

  marvin   

[Larry Rinkel]

I'm falling behind in my listening schedule....

  marvin   

Just wait until you get to the lates. . . .

[marvinbrown]

Just wait until you get to the lates. . . .

  Thanks Larry 

  marvin

[gmstudio]

I recently went through a Mahler cycle by doing all the first movements, then all the seconds, all the thirds...and so on...I mean, why the hell not, right?

[marvinbrown]

I recently went through a Mahler cycle by doing all the first movements, then all the seconds, all the thirds...and so on...I mean, why the hell not, right?

  Oh WOW....though I am not a fan of Mahler I would imagine with Symphonies than can be a bit daunting.  Symphonies usually follow a theme.....didn't mixing up the movements cause confusion or lack of understanding of the themes of the symphonies ?  As for me, mixing up the listening sequence of Beethoven's String Quartets (each complete of course) has hardly caused any confusion...although I must say again that I listen to them complete never mixing up the various movements of the string quartets as you did with Mahler's symphonies......although now that you mentioned it I am tempted to try....

  marvin

[gmstudio]

 didn't mixing up the movements cause confusion or lack of understanding of the themes of the symphonies ? 

Believe me, I've both listened to and conducted (some of) them so many times that to spend a week doing it this way didn't cause much "confusion."   The only time it "bogged down" was when i got to the 8th while doing the 2nd movements. Christ.

I have to tell you though, listening through the whole cycle and ending the whole thing with the 6th movement of the 3rd was sublime.

[marvinbrown]

Believe me, I've both listened to and conducted (some of) them so many times that to spend a week doing it this way didn't cause much "confusion."   The only time it "bogged down" was when i got to the 8th while doing the 2nd movements. Christ.

I have to tell you though, listening through the whole cycle and ending the whole thing with the 6th movement of the 3rd was sublime.

  You are a more experienced listener than I am gmstudio and you conduct as well  !!!!  I suppose when music becomes a profession as it is with you there are no limits!!

  As for me I just finished listening to the last of the late string quartets this morning before I went off to the record store.  I found them to be more complex musically than the early and middle quartets and surprising less "melodic" or "romantic" for lack of better words than the Rasumovsky quartets and the "Harp" Op. 74.  I think I'll go back and revisit all of the late quartets by the middle of next week.

marvin

 

[RebLem]

Just start with CD 1 and listen from the beginning all the way through, then go to CD2, and so on.  Pay attention to the music itself, not what order they are in on the CD.  You waste too much energy that way.

The Alban Bergs are not my favorites, but they are very good, indeed, esp for the early and middle quartets.  I suggest the first thing to do after listening all the way through is to get the Yale Quartet set of the Late Quartets, and then you might want to get the complete Smetana Quartet set.

[Josquin des Prez]

The Opus 18 has always been a mixed bag for me. They are finely crafted quartets of great originality and variety, but the more i listen the more i tend to tire of them. The level of inspiration seems to be somewhat variable and at times they fall into outright mediocrity. The only exception is the fifth quartet, mainly due the transcendental set of variations in the andante, which is a true work of genius.

The Op.59 is the beginning of Beethoven's true greatness in this medium.

As for recordings, 60s Juiliard for early and middle quartets, Talich for middle and late.

[marvinbrown]

  I do not know about mediocrity...that word hardly ever applies to Herr Beethoven.  But yes the early string quartets Op.18 are a "mixed bag" and in some instances not as GREAT as the middle and late quartets.  That being said I  really enjoyed No.2, 3, 4 and 6...each of these has fine moments indeed!!

  marvin

[DavidW]

I have a wacky idea for listening order-- listen to 'em all, and then start with the one you liked the most and start there.

[Karafan]

I've just snagged a lovely 2nd hand copy of the Suske-Quartet cycle. Evidence of a careful previous owner is a dated listening schedule and I immediately wondered if he'd been listening to them in chronological composition order...but it would seem not, probably just purely random?

[Jo498]

Funny. I have had check marks, dates, brief positive/negative expressions and even booklets doubled in bulk because of cut out magazine reviews glued in by former owners but I haven't seen a schedule like that.
FWIW, I think in times when one either buys complete sets or streams music, the original question is not very important. I encountered the late quartets before the other ones as I had taped op.131 (albeit in the Bernstein orchestral version) and op.132 from the radio. I might have heard others before but the first ones I had on disc were op.59/2+3.

I don't think there is an easy piece to start with.
I found and find the late quartets far more accessible than their reputation and more than some of the middle/early ones but of course they are quite long 8except the last one) and have difficult stretches, and 3 quartets that seem rather popular, op.18/4, 59/3 and 74 are not among my favorites. I am not sure if any Beethoven quartet is nearly as popular as e.g. his Kreutzer sonata or Schubert's "Death & Maiden" or some Haydn and Mozart quartets.
I'd probably recommend to start with op.135 as it among the shortest and while the ambiguous first movement is not the easiest to grasp, the remaining 3 seem very accessible to me.

[DavidW]

I have a wacky idea for listening order-- listen to 'em all, and then start with the one you liked the most and start there.

My post was so colossally stupid that it stopped the thread in its tracks! This isn't the first time, either.

[DavidW]

I've just snagged a lovely 2nd hand copy of the Suske-Quartet cycle. Evidence of a careful previous owner is a dated listening schedule and I immediately wondered if he'd been listening to them in chronological composition order...but it would seem not, probably just purely random?

? I think you misread the handwriting. It is in strict order from Op 18 to Op 135, and then after that, the string trios.