Somehow, we don't have a thread for these works.
Tell me, what is your favorite set of the Mozart String Quartets?
I have Eder on Naxos, but I wonder how much better the Quartetto Italiano is in this music. (I love their Beethoven.)
Quote from: George on June 20, 2015, 07:17:17 PM
Somehow, we don't have a thread for these works.
Tell me, what is your favorite set of the Mozart String Quartets?
I have Eder on Naxos, but I wonder how much better the Quartetto Italiano is in this music. (I love their Beethoven.)
There's a great set of the Guarneri Quartet on Sony pretty cheap. I prfer HIP recordings these days, but you cannot go wrong with them or the Italian Quartet.
Hagen Quartett on DG is pretty good, apart from the cover art. I will recommend.
For individual recordings, also recommend the Hagen Quartett on Myrios, Mosaïques, and probably most significantly Chiaroscuro.
I always had a crush for this set, but I suspect that it is an acquired taste.... 0:)
[asin] B0000037B7[/asin]
Quote from: Moonfish on June 20, 2015, 08:20:46 PM
I always had a crush for this set, but I suspect that it is an acquired taste.... 0:)
[asin] B0000037B7[/asin]
I like that set too.
I had a disc of the Italianos for at least a decade but never got along with it. Too 'gummy' without enough tension.
Have weeded out others over the years and now I'm happy with the Mosaïques, the Hagen, and the Emerson.
I think you will like the Italian quartet George. But surely you can find what they do easily enough to check it out for yourself?
These are the ones which stand out for me
The Ebene CD
The Janacek Quartet in K387
The Juilliard's 1957 K 465 on Testment, and their early recording of 499 and 575 (I put my transfer on symphonyshare)
The Netherlands Quartet Mozart CD on spotify, especially K499.
the Budapest Quartet's first recording of the Hoffmeister
The Petersen Quartet
Alban Berg Quartet, the first recording.
The recordings by the Chiaroscuro quartet.
The Kuijken Quartet.
Some of the Smetana quartet's, but I'd have to check to see which ones.
I never listen to the earlier ones.
The Leipzigs on MDG are great, and seldom mentioned.
Quote from: Mandryka on June 20, 2015, 10:38:36 PM
The Petersen Quartet
Quote from: The new erato on June 20, 2015, 10:39:37 PM
The Leipzigs on MDG are great, and seldom mentioned.
I am also a fan of these two (predictably)
I would also add my recommendations for the Quartetto Italiano and the Quatuor Mosaïques.
I would also like to add the Chilingarian Quartet into the mix....
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51-Y9BQn89L._SY355_.jpg)
Quote from: Dancing Divertimentian on June 20, 2015, 09:39:50 PM
I had a disc of the Italianos for at least a decade but never got along with it. Too 'gummy' without enough tension.
Yes, I compared 6 quartets from the Italianos and the Eder (on Naxos) and the Eder won for me every time. The Italiano's are beautiful but they seem too heavy or slow.
I have only one complete set, by the Amadeus Quartet. I find them very good, though not surpassing good.
The Alban Berg Quartett in "the ten celebrated quartets" is excellent. As are the Leipzigers in the Prussian Quartets. And, of course, the Mosaïques in the Haydn q's.
Quote from: karlhenning on June 21, 2015, 05:51:21 AM
The Alban Berg Quartett in "the ten celebrated quartets" is excellent.
I was just going to ask about these. THANKS!
Quote from: amw on June 20, 2015, 11:30:33 PM
I am also a fan of these two (predictably)
What did you make of the Leipzig Haydn op 50? I'm wondering whether to buy it.
Alban Berg on Teldec for me.
Quote from: Mandryka on June 21, 2015, 09:18:13 AM
What did you make of the Leipzig Haydn op 50? I'm wondering whether to buy it.
First volume is excellent. The Leipzigers are incredibly "slick" which won't be to everyone's taste, I'd describe their interpretations as aristocratic, poised and melancholy, but without precluding the possibility of high energy, humour, or a general controlled loss of (emotional) control. For instance their Op. 50/1/i is sweet, expressive and longing, almost Mozartian, as compared to e.g. the Nomos which brings significantly more energy and a more down-to-earth character. One thing that also appeals is that they have possibly the most beautiful sound of any string quartet I've heard, especially when they play without vibrato.
Haven't heard the second but want it
I highly recommend this set:
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51RWNCGR24L.jpg) with the Julliard SQ in total command of these works. Precise, aristocratic, at times beautiful and at times dissonant, probably as good as modern instrument performances go.
Not a big fan of HIP on these works but I rather like this set in its CD incarnation:
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41RRKU%2Bz1tL._SL500_AA300_.jpg)
Quote from: PerfectWagnerite on June 21, 2015, 04:09:35 PM
I highly recommend this set:
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51RWNCGR24L.jpg) with the Julliard SQ in total command of these works. Precise, aristocratic, at times beautiful and at times dissonant, probably as good as modern instrument performances go.
Not a big fan of HIP on these works but I rather like this set in its CD incarnation:
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41RRKU%2Bz1tL._SL500_AA300_.jpg)
That's funny, that box as one of the first items I ever rec'd here at GMG, and I got my head hammered to the floor for it! I thought then, as I still do now, that it is a very fine MI performance, not overly Romantic in its presentation, just superbly controlled.
The Smithson set is indeed very fine. I have 3 PI's; the Smithson (in that nice Virgin 5-box of chamber music), the Mosaiques, and a very nice effort by the Kuijkens. Any which you can get I feel are satisfactory.
8)
For the early ones Hagen although I admittedly only have one or two of the early quartets in a different recording, these are not essential pieces although #7-13 or so are quite good. The mature ones are also very good with the Hagen Q and the yellow/brown box is probably the easiest way to get them anyway, but they were recorded much later and would probably considered "mannered" by some listeners (and they became even more mannered with the more recent recording of K 428). The recordings of the mature quartets closest in style to the straightforward and rather lean (but still tonally beautiful) playing of the early Hagen is probably Petersen (9/10, the K 499) is missing.
I also like the Teldec ABQ.
Of non-complete (i.e. not even the last 10) recordings my favorites are the Smetana (6 dedicated to Haydn on Denon from Japan, maybe also on Supraphon, there are earlier recordings of 3 or so on Testament) and the Vienna Musikverein (Küchl) Quartet (Decca). The latter recorded 6 quartets (and a few again 20 years later) but I only have one disc that used to be on a Decca midprice series. I think all of them are available in Japan and a few (but not all) have also recently appeared on Australian eloquence.
I am almost drawing a blank with HIP readings. I have only 2 pieces with the Mosaiques (which are good but not overwhelmingly great). They recorded a bunch (also the Festetics) but they are mostly oop and too expensive for me.
Quote from: Gurn Blanston on June 21, 2015, 05:00:23 PM
That's funny, that box as one of the first items I ever rec'd here at GMG, and I got my head hammered to the floor for it! I thought then, as I still do now, that it is a very fine MI performance, not overly Romantic in its presentation, just superbly controlled.
Thank you for reminding me . . . in fact, I have the reissue of this (plus the viola, & clarinet, quintets):
[asin]B0056K4W1M[/asin]
Completely agree, that there is no fault in these!
Everyone here pretty much told me to get the Alban Berg set on Teldec, for the 10 mature quartets.
They weren't wrong. It's highly enjoyable except for one plodding minuet.
I guess one will almost run the risk of a plodding menuet or two. I find them occasionally even in classical era recordings I like a lot for other reasons.
Okay, I'll ask! Which menuet plods for you, in there?
Quote from: karlhenning on June 23, 2015, 03:45:03 AM
Okay, I'll ask! Which menuet plods for you, in there?
I believe it was The Hunt.
I cannot answer it off-hand with examples from string quartets because it's been years that I listened that ABQ recording but I frequently find than menuets in Mozart and Haydn are taken to slowly. There are some that seem to be clearly to be taken in whole bars (close to a waltz/laendler tempo MM 54-60 for dotted halfs) and many ensembles used to play them in measured quarters (MM ca. 120).
Quote from: orfeo on June 23, 2015, 03:53:54 AM
I believe it was The Hunt.
Thanks! When I get home this evening I'll return to it, see if I have a quarrel with it, too . . . .
Quote from: Jo498 on June 23, 2015, 03:58:19 AM
I cannot answer it off-hand with examples from string quartets because it's been years that I listened that ABQ recording but I frequently find than menuets in Mozart and Haydn are taken to slowly. There are some that seem to be clearly to be taken in whole bars (close to a waltz/laendler tempo MM 54-60 for dotted halfs) and many ensembles used to play them in measured quarters (MM ca. 120).
I certainly see your point; and in a great many cases, I have a natural inclination to favor the crisper
tempi of the HIPsters (as long as they don't lose their heads). Entertaining the question has me curious to revisit the
Alban Berg and the
Juilliard Quartets, just to see how I feel about their menuettage.
Quote from: karlhenning on June 23, 2015, 04:01:47 AM
I certainly see your point; and in a great many cases, I have a natural inclination to favor the crisper tempi of the HIPsters (as long as they don't lose their heads). Entertaining the question has me curious to revisit the Alban Berg and the Juilliard Quartets, just to see how I feel about their menuettage.
I'll be curious as to your findings, Karl.
I just ordered the Alban Berg Mozart Teldec set last night. 8)
Cheers, George!
I like Smetana Quartet in K421.
[asin]B003RECFMW[/asin]
and for trivia connoisseurs, it's supposedly the first commercial digital recording (1972).
Quote from: orfeo on June 23, 2015, 03:53:54 AM
I believe it was The Hunt.
I can understand this
tempo (the
Alban Berg Quartet) being too stately for some; but I find they carry it with grace and energy. I like it.
Quote from: Jo498 on June 23, 2015, 03:58:19 AM
I cannot answer it off-hand with examples from string quartets because it's been years that I listened that ABQ recording but I frequently find than menuets in Mozart and Haydn are taken to slowly. There are some that seem to be clearly to be taken in whole bars (close to a waltz/laendler tempo MM 54-60 for dotted halfs) and many ensembles used to play them in measured quarters (MM ca. 120).
And I note that the marking for the
Menuetto in the
K.458 is
Moderato, i.e. slower (more moderate) than in the other
"Haydn" Quartets, which are marked
Allegretto (
K.387, 421 & 428) or
Allegro (
K.465). (The marking in the
K.464 seems to be simply
Menuetto.)
Quote from: karlhenning on June 25, 2015, 09:01:09 AM
And I note that the marking for the Menuetto in the K.458 is Moderato, i.e. slower (more moderate) than in the other "Haydn" Quartets, which are marked Allegretto (K.387, 421 & 428) or Allegro (K.465). (The marking in the K.464 seems to be simply Menuetto.)
Oh yes, both Mozart and Haydn knew how to vary their menuet tempos and meant something by it. Certainly, in the case of Haydn (which I know better because I once went through an exercise of comparing movements), there are some that are definitely 3-in-a-bar and some that are definitely 1-in-a-bar.
My reaction to the Alban Bergs might well be in part because the "Hunt" was a work I was already familiar with from another performance.
Well, my exercise has resulted in a preference for the Alban Berg Quartet over the Juilliards :)
Quote from: karlhenning on June 25, 2015, 02:59:39 PM
Well, my exercise has resulted in a preference for the Alban Berg Quartet over the Juilliards :)
I sure pleased I bought the ABQ, then!
Quote from: karlhenning on June 21, 2015, 05:51:21 AM
The Alban Berg Quartett in "the ten celebrated quartets" is excellent.
After hearing the first CD, I have to say I am disappointed. The sound thin and the playing lacks warmth. Maybe I will enjoy the other discs more.
Quote from: George on June 30, 2015, 06:27:18 AM
After hearing the first CD, I have to say I am disappointed. The sound thin and the playing lacks warmth. Maybe I will enjoy the other discs more.
Which one do you have, the Teldec or their second recording?
Quote from: Mandryka on June 30, 2015, 06:53:26 AM
Which one do you have, the Teldec or their second recording?
Teldec.
I am now thinking I should have gone with the Italiano set.
As far as I recall the Teldec recordings they are, if anything, sounding a little *too* warm and thick for Mozart (as opposed to Brahms, Schubert or Dvorak) to my ears... if you find ABQ to thin you should maybe disregard recommendations for e.g. the Hagen or Petersen Quartets.
Quote from: George on June 30, 2015, 06:27:18 AM
After hearing the first CD, I have to say I am disappointed. The sound thin and the playing lacks warmth. Maybe I will enjoy the other discs more.
Sorry!
Quote from: karlhenning on June 30, 2015, 07:24:15 AM
Sorry!
NO worries, buddy. It took me over ten years to appreciate the Julliard LvB SQ and now there are one of my favorites!
Thanks for being so good a sport, George!
Which is better, Smetana Quartet on Denon or Smetana Quartet on Testament?
I think most people prefer Testament (EMI). But there are only a few quartets on Testament (4? I have one disc with K 421, 428 and 464, probably it was two LPs and there is another) but all 6 on Denon. I have to admit that I never compared the ones I have (I lack the Denon disc with K 387/428). They are all good, the earlier one probably more lively, the later ones with better sound.
Wel, I've just ordered the Denon set, apart from 387 and 428 which is on Tidal etc. It was listening to that recording which made me curious. I have a recording with the Hunt quartet which I think (but I'm not sure) is the EMI, but I prefer the style and sound of Denon.
Having said that, something tells me that it's inevitable that I'll get all the EMI at some point in the future!
Had a day listening to Mozart/Haydn quartets today, Smetana and Hagen on DG. Hagen are interesting but I just don't like it, too operatic. Has anyone heard the newish recording on Myrios? I wonder if it's the same style as the DG.
I saw them do some Haydn in concert a few years ago and I loved it.
The Hagen have become ever more mannered since they left DG, I believe. I have only one of their Myrios disks (with a re-recording of K 428 + Weber opp. 5+9 + Beethoven op.59/2) and they do some strange rubato in the last (I think) movement which I find exaggerated and mannered. AFAIR I liked their DG Mozart a lot. It is operatic and some movements are already somewhat mannered but it is not that exaggerated.
The Smetana apparently never recorded all the late Mozart quartets. Apparently the "Prussian" quartets are missing but there is a K 499 (in not so great sound on a BBC live disk) and they did all 6 *quintets* with Suk. Some find the latter too weighty but I love them as well (also Denon from Japan).
Quote from: Jo498 on June 25, 2017, 02:38:17 PM
The Hagen have become ever more mannered since they left DG, I believe. I have only one of their Myrios disks (with a re-recording of K 428 + Weber opp. 5+9 + Beethoven op.59/2) and they do some strange rubato in the last (I think) movement which I find exaggerated and mannered. AFAIR I liked their DG Mozart a lot. It is operatic and some movements are already somewhat mannered but it is not that exaggerated.
I've heard the Myrios Mozart now, or rather I've heard 387, it's completely original I think and whether you like it or not, it's something to hear.
I had not even been aware of the Hagen's more recent K 387/458 disc. As I said, I liked their DG Mozart a lot but I am not really looking into duplications with those newer recordings. (And while I think that they tend to overdo it sometimes in their more recent recordings, the next Myrios I'd get is probably the re-recording of LvB's op.135 + two from op.18. I wonder how long it will take until we get op.59/3 and the remainder of op.18 (2 +6))
But back to Mozart. The Diapason chamber music collection (probably cheaper in .fr or .de than in the .com link below) supposedly contains the only CD version (taken from LPs, apparently CBS/Sony never put these recordings on CD, not even in Japan) of the Juilliard (ca. 1959) recordings of the quartets dedicated to Haydn. There is considerable distortion (that sounds often like inner grove distortion to me) but overall the sound is pretty good. Listening again, I think that the sound is somewhat of a distraction. I am not experienced enough with vinyl transfers but it sounds like pretty bad distortion at times for a recording from ca. 1960. I tend to think that it is due to vinyl/transfer quality, not to the original recording but I actually find it more distracting that e.g. the shellac fried eggs sound.
The rest of that box is a mixed bunch. There are only two more string quartets, K 575 and 590 in 1950s mono recordings of the Amadeus Q, nothing so special IMO although this quartet sounds better here than in some of their later recordings where Brainin's vibrato and mannerisms stick out, he apparently was better behaved when younger.
[asin]B00KB4CG48[/asin]
(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/61HtOOANdQL._SY445_.jpg)
I've started to listen to this, it's good, with a definite feeling of live. Excellent sound, better than DG I think. Anyway, if anyone wants the sound files, which I've ripped from the video because I'm not interested in the video, then they can PM me.
(https://d27t0qkxhe4r68.cloudfront.net/t_900/825646960590.jpg?1461084041) (https://img.discogs.com/c_ldOUqGsLzBjUnmuMrLnRLjhAc=/fit-in/300x300/filters:strip_icc():format(jpeg):mode_rgb():quality(40)/discogs-images/R-5166871-1386326437-4023.jpeg.jpg)
I just listened to the Hunt in both of these. The biggest difference is in the adagio -- you'll get the idea if I say that the EMI is 7,07 and the Teldec is 7,5x. The EMI doesn't sound rushed and the Teldec doesn't sound too slow. The Teldec is maybe a bit more incisive -- just just sharper accents, but I think we're talking real subtleties if it's the case at all, both are hugely enjoyable. The sound on both is fine, better on emi but both are fine.
One to avoid is this SACD from Japan
(https://images-eu.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51qxsJaCF6L._SR600%2C315_PIWhiteStrip%2CBottomLeft%2C0%2C35_SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg)
It's been remastered in a way which brings out the first violin at the expense of the others.
Mandryka, I hope your hat is non-toxic.
Here's what I did. I found my FLAC rip of the old Teldec release and extracted the first movement of K387 to a WAV file (uncompressed waveforms). It was the brown-cover release, and I used XLD to convert FLAC to WAV.
(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51y9kyyK6gL.jpg)
Then I purchased the same movement as a lossless FLAC download of the newer black-cover release from Presto Classical.
https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/products/7965516--the-alban-berg-quartet-the-teldec-recordings-1971-79
(https://d27t0qkxhe4r68.cloudfront.net/t_300/825646960590.jpg?1461084041)
I converted the new one to a WAV file as well (using XLD).
The two files were not identical, the old one was slightly longer, by a second.
Then I ran a c-code I had written which reads the wav file data and prints it out in plain text, so the numbers are human readable. The old one had a little more silence padding the beginning of the track. But other than that the two file are number-by-number identical. I've included a screen shot where I am comparing the two outputs side by side (new track in the left window, old track in the right window). Each window has three columns of numbers. The left column is the sample number (the time) where there are 44,100 samples per second. The next two columns are left and right channel waveform amplitude. You'll notice the time is a little shifted (by 1155 samples, about 1/40 of a second) but the second and third columns are identical, comparing the left and right windows. I.e., the left channel waveform is 503, 497, 553, 636, etc, for old and new files, and the right channel is 1010, 846, 699, 580, etc, for old and new files. The presto download of the black-cover release and my rip of the older brown-cover release are absolutely identical, except for a fraction of a second of silence clipped off the beginning of the new track.
So what can I say? At least one track of the brown-cover CD set and the lossless download of the black-cover set are absolutely identical. I guess I can't prove that the black-cover CDs are identical, because Presto might have sold me a rip an old release.
If you can make any FLAC files of your lossless rips available I can compare those to my brown-cover release as well.
Quote from: Ghost of Baron Scarpia on March 15, 2019, 11:50:37 AM
If you can make any FLAC files of your lossless rips available I can compare those to my brown-cover release as well.
Done
I'm confused. Why is there any doubt about whether Alban Berg on Teldec is the same as Alban Berg on Teldec?
Quote from: Madiel on March 15, 2019, 02:24:20 PM
I'm confused. Why is there any doubt about whether Alban Berg on Teldec is the same as Alban Berg on Teldec?
The question is whether the most recent release is simply a duplicate of the original CD release (which dates back to 1987 or so) or whether they have gone back to the original tapes and made a new master. I had the set on LP and the original CD master did not have the same silky violin sound as the LPs did.
I have some experience comparing different masterings using Audacity. I compare the EQ of each, rather than the peaks because sometimes things are simply transferred at a higher or lower level. If I can be of assistance, let me know, guys.
And meanwhile I am absolutely convinced that when I got the big set it sounded much better than my old red one, silkier, to use Scarpia's word.
But I could be wrong, I may have been drunk at the time . . .
Quote from: Mandryka on March 15, 2019, 02:37:07 PM
And meanwhile I am absolutely convinced that when I got the big set it sounded much better than my old red one, silkier, to use Scarpia's word.
But I could be wrong, I may have been drunk at the time . . .
I certainly notice that my auditory perception varies - I might find a recording grating or shrill at one listening session, and pleasant at another. Ears are not microphones, they will react differently depending on your physical and emotional state.
Before I did the numerical comparison I tried listening to samples from Presto Classical, the old and new releases in A B alternation. It was rather awkward because it takes like 10 seconds for the stream to start, so you listen to one and have to wait before you can listen to the other. On one track I though I heard a difference, on another track I didn't, then I went back to the first track and didn't hear the difference anymore. That's when I decided I had to be quantitative.
Quote from: George on March 15, 2019, 02:32:31 PM
I have some experience comparing different masterings using Audacity. I compare the EQ of each, rather than the peaks because sometimes things are simply transferred at a higher or lower level. If I can be of assistance, let me know, guys.
Thanks for the offer. My goal is to determine if they are
literally identical. I've been dumping the binary data from the audio files and doing a code-by-code comparison. The old CD turned out to be identical to the digital download of the new release, next I'm trying a comparison of rips of the old and new CDs.
Quote from: Ghost of Baron Scarpia on March 15, 2019, 02:27:03 PM
The question is whether the most recent release is simply a duplicate of the original CD release (which dates back to 1987 or so) or whether they have gone back to the original tapes and made a new master. I had the set on LP and the original CD master did not have the same silky violin sound as the LPs did.
Don't record companies typically make a song and dance about making a new master? If they don't advertise remastering, my default assumption is that there hasn't been any.
Quote from: Madiel on March 15, 2019, 04:03:52 PM
Don't record companies typically make a song and dance about making a new master? If they don't advertise remastering, my default assumption is that there hasn't been any.
Mine too. But an amazon reviewer claims it has been remastered and sounds dramatically better. I would tend to discount that except I
really like these recordings and find it worth investigating, even though I am likely to be disappointed.
Quote from: Ghost of Baron Scarpia on March 15, 2019, 03:15:50 PM
Thanks for the offer. My goal is to determine if they are literally identical. I've been dumping the binary data from the audio files and doing a code-by-code comparison. The old CD turned out to be identical to the digital download of the new release, next I'm trying a comparison of rips of the old and new CDs.
So if one is transferred at a louder or softer volume than the other, will your method show that?
Quote from: Ghost of Baron Scarpia on March 15, 2019, 04:18:13 PM
Mine too. But an amazon reviewer claims it has been remastered and sounds dramatically better. I would tend to discount that except I really like these recordings and find it worth investigating, even though I am likely to be disappointed.
I see.
Well, I'm encouraged that you're aware of the potential folly of believing anything said by an amazon reviewer...
Quote from: Ghost of Baron Scarpia on March 15, 2019, 02:27:03 PM
The question is whether the most recent release is simply a duplicate of the original CD release (which dates back to 1987 or so) or whether they have gone back to the original tapes and made a new master. I had the set on LP and the original CD master did not have the same silky violin sound as the LPs did.
May I add another wrinkle to the confusion?
I have the ABQ recordings as part of this set, one of the Really Good Bargains I got last month from Arkivmusic's Warner sale.
(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51g7MbwbDYL.jpg).
It gives the recording dates as the late 1970s, the earliest being in 1977. The copyright dates match with one strange difference, and imply no mastering beyond that used for the CDs I have. But (this is the strange difference) the copyright dates start in 1976!
Leaving aside the possibility of Time Lord involvement, the information given with my set seems to say there was only one mastering for both CD and LP, and the silkiness you
heard was a more than usually glaring example of the difference between LP and CD?
(My set is certainly the same as Mandryka's. The Adagio timing he mentions is in my set 7'53".
Quote from: JBS on March 15, 2019, 05:41:58 PM
May I add another wrinkle to the confusion?
I have the ABQ recordings as part of this set, one of the Really Good Bargains I got last month from Arkivmusic's Warner sale.
(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51g7MbwbDYL.jpg).
It gives the recording dates as the late 1970s, the earliest being in 1977. The copyright dates match with one strange difference, and imply no mastering beyond that used for the CDs I have. But (this is the strange difference) the copyright dates start in 1976!
Leaving aside the possibility of Time Lord involvement, the information given with my set seems to say there was only one mastering for both CD and LP, and the silkiness you
heard was a more than usually glaring example of the difference between LP and CD?
(My set is certainly the same as Mandryka's. The Adagio timing he mentions is in my set 7'53".
It just means they have not bothered to make any note of the date when the digital masters were made, and they are presumably the ones made for the first teldec CD release. There is no such thing as mastering for both CD and LP. One process involves a cutting lathe and the other the creation of a computer file. The LP mastering information was traditionally written directly on the plate and visible on the vinyl pressing itself. I haven't managed to compare the binary data from the two teldec issues available to me (The so called black and brown sets). I suspect they will all turn out to be identical, including the discs in the 250 anniversary edition. Probably those are literally the same pressings with a different label.
Quote from: George on March 15, 2019, 04:19:47 PM
So if one is transferred at a louder or softer volume than the other, will your method show that?
I am expecting to discover that they simply copied the old files over, with no alteration, bit for bit identical. There would be little justification for a volume change if there was no other modification. But if they a are not bit for bit identical a volume change would be easy to detect by examination of the raw audio data.
Quote from: Ghost of Baron Scarpia on March 15, 2019, 04:18:13 PM
Mine too. But an amazon reviewer claims it has been remastered and sounds dramatically better. I would tend to discount that except I really like these recordings and find it worth investigating, even though I am likely to be disappointed.
Oh come on . . . get a move on . . . we're all dying to know . . . you're the only one with both recordings. Come on . . . I'm going to die of suspense and excitement . . .
I think the brown set was the first complete on CD. It appeared in 1994 and it only says "digitally mastered", overall the information is minimal. The single disc with two quartets could be a few years earlier as the light and dark blue stripes were used only until about 1990 or so when they changed to the silver stripe and the triangle.
As I said in the other thread, I did make comparisons of several other recordings, but all were usually considerably older, either from the mono age or the early 1960s. Some really were better, especially when the early CD issued had been quite problematic. Two I remember are the De Sabata Tosca and Klemps German Requiem. I was far less certain with Klemps Fidelio and still have two CDs of his Lied von der Erde awaiting comparison I cannot be bothered with. A frequent feature is that more recent ones mainly appear louder. After I could not decide which one I preferred in a few other cases, I basically gave up on getting new remasterings, unless I found obvious faults with the issue I already had.
As for the ABQ the recordings whose sound was considered problematic by many were a few early digital recs on EMI, e.g. the Schubert quintet (I think this is the only candidate I have). They had harsh, glassy, "glaring" sound. (Note that some of their earliest EMI recordings are still analogue, e.g. the Schubert G major D 887)
So while I am also looking forward to what Scarpia can find out, I will stick with my brown box.
Quote from: Jo498 on March 16, 2019, 01:34:28 AM
I did make comparisons of several other recordings,
Which is obviously the most un-Mozartian thing one could do. Hearing a Mozart SQ (or piano sonata, or symphony, or whatever) back then was more often than not a once-in-a-life-time event. If yiou were fortunate enough, you heard it once, and that was all. ;D
I mean, those were the times when music meant first and foremost performance aimed at a specific audience, and deeply concerned with the audience's response. The times when music became first and foremost technical study and analysis of a given, fixed and immutable musical text, aimed at musicologists and fellow composers, and deeply concerned with their response, was still to come.
Quote from: Mandryka on March 16, 2019, 12:50:01 AM
Oh come on . . . get a move on . . . we're all dying to know . . . you're the only one with both recordings. Come on . . . I'm going to die of suspense and excitement . . .
Tonight
This is a misunderstanding. I meant, I compared different CD issues or remasterings in other cases before I basically gave up on trying more recent issues for supposedly better sound. So I certainly won't do it for a CD like the "brown" box of the ABQ Mozart that sounds fine enough to me.
Quote from: Florestan on March 16, 2019, 12:00:35 PM
Which is obviously the most un-Mozartian thing one could do. Hearing a Mozart SQ (or piano sonata, or symphony, or whatever) back then was more often than not a once-in-a-life-time event. If yiou were fortunate enough, you heard it once, and that was all. ;D
I mean, those were the times when music meant first and foremost performance aimed at a specific audience, and deeply concerned with the audience's response. The times when music became first and foremost technical study and analysis of a given, fixed and immutable musical text, aimed at musicologists and fellow composers, and deeply concerned with their response, was still to come.
Well, not entirely. Renaissance polyphonists certainly studied each other and sometimes did stunts to show off. Josquin's Deploration for example was written entirely with what in the notation of the time were called black notes. I think Bach was concerned with exemplifying a tradition fully in Art Of Fugue as well as writing a piece for performance. The Musical Offering was certainly intended as a composer's reply to another composer, not just a bunch of stuff to perform (though it was that too). So I think you overstate.
Quote from: Florestan on March 16, 2019, 12:00:35 PM
I mean, those were the times when music meant first and foremost performance aimed at a specific audience, and deeply concerned with the audience's response. The times when music became first and foremost technical study and analysis of a given, fixed and immutable musical text, aimed at musicologists and fellow composers, and deeply concerned with their response, was still to come.
This sounds plausible to me, though I'm hardly an expert in the music of Mozart's time.
Quote from: Florestan on March 16, 2019, 12:00:35 PM
Hearing a Mozart SQ (or piano sonata, or symphony, or whatever) back then was more often than not a once-in-a-life-time event. If yiou were fortunate enough, you heard it once, and that was all. ;D
This sounds very plausible too, with the above caveat.
HOWEVER
The logic sounds wrong. Where I'm coming from is this:
In Bach's time, hearing a concert was probably a rare event. But he still published things like Art of Fugue. And similar reasoning for Ockeghem's Missa Cuiusvis Toni, cycles of Magnificats by Sweelink's pupils etc.
So my suspicion is that the preoccupation with effect on audience was a sort of dumbing down which happened in Mozart's day, rather than a consequence of the concert culture. :-*
Quote from: Ken B on March 16, 2019, 12:25:05 PM
Well, not entirely. Renaissance polyphonists certainly studied each other and sometimes did stunts to show off. Josquin's Deploration for example was written entirely with what in the notation of the time were called black notes. I think Bach was concerned with exemplifying a tradition fully in Art Of Fugue as well as writing a piece for performance. The Musical Offering was certainly intended as a composer's reply to another composer, not just a bunch of stuff to perform (though it was that too). So I think you overstate.
Great minds think alike I see.
Quote from: Ken B on March 16, 2019, 12:25:05 PM
Well, not entirely. Renaissance polyphonists certainly studied each other and sometimes did stunts to show off. Josquin's Deploration for example was written entirely with what in the notation of the time were called black notes. I think Bach was concerned with exemplifying a tradition fully in Art Of Fugue as well as writing a piece for performance. The Musical Offering was certainly intended as a composer's reply to another composer, not just a bunch of stuff to perform (though it was that too). So I think you overstate.
I was talking about
Mozart, not about Renaissance polyphonists. Josquin or Bach. And moreover, I was talking from the point of view of the ordinary listener. Feel free to think you are not in the latter category.
The quartets dedicated to Haydn were certainly written to impress Haydn. Not as their only but as an important purpose. And they achieved this purpose.
Quote from: Jo498 on March 16, 2019, 12:35:08 PM
The quartets dedicated to Haydn were certainly written to impress Haydn.
Then what business do
we have listening to them? What if they fail to impress
us? Are they any worse for that?
No, obviously WE are worse for it, if they fail to impress us.
Quote from: Jo498 on March 16, 2019, 12:54:14 PM
No, obviously WE are worse for it, if they fail to impress us.
An argument from authority, if ever there was one. ;D
Quote from: Mandryka on March 16, 2019, 12:25:15 PM
my suspicion is that the preoccupation with effect on audience was a sort of dumbing down which happened in Mozart's day, rather than a consequence of the concert culture. :-*
Dumbing down? Are you implying that any music that is pleasant and touching to the audience is
ipso facto not good?
Of course. If I wouldn't yield to Mozart or Haydn as far as musical authority goes, I'd be a fool, wouldn't I?
This doesn't mean that I have to yield everything personal and not form an opinion of my own.
But this is not about critical thinking, finding flaws in argument or whatever but letting one's taste be shaped by great works of art. Their authority is unavoidable but it's not "accidental" authority.
Quote from: Jo498 on March 16, 2019, 01:22:01 PM
Of course. If I wouldn't yield to Mozart or Haydn as far as musical authority goes, I'd be a fool, wouldn't I?
This doesn't mean that I have to yield everything personal and not form an opinion of my own.
But this is not about critical thinking, finding flaws in argument or whatever but letting one's taste be shaped by great works of art. Their authority is unavoidable but it's not "accidental" authority.
Not only is this right, it exactly what Andrei argues most of the time!
Quote from: Florestan on March 16, 2019, 12:32:35 PM
I was talking about Mozart, not about Renaissance polyphonists. Josquin or Bach. And moreover, I was talking from the point of view of the ordinary listener. Feel free to think you are not in the latter category.
Mozart published works too, you know. You seem under the weird illusion that because we don't use his opus numbers, there weren't any.
Quote from: Madiel on March 16, 2019, 03:12:52 PM
Mozart published works too, you know. You seem under the weird illusion that because we don't use his opus numbers, there weren't any.
That is not my point. My point is that listening to a Mozart quartet in his days was more often than not a once-in-a-lifetime event.
Quote from: Jo498 on March 16, 2019, 01:22:01 PM
Of course. If I wouldn't yield to Mozart or Haydn as far as musical authority goes, I'd be a fool, wouldn't I?
This doesn't mean that I have to yield everything personal and not form an opinion of my own.
But this is not about critical thinking, finding flaws in argument or whatever but letting one's taste be shaped by great works of art. Their authority is unavoidable but it's not "accidental" authority.
Don't get me wrong, I love those quartets. And Mozart is in my top 3 favorite composers.
Quote from: Ken B on March 16, 2019, 02:51:35 PM
Not only is this right, it exactly what Andrei argues most of the time!
;D
I guess I was in argumentative mood, again. :)
Actually, the 6 quartets dedicated to Haydn were probably Mozart's most important published work. They received opus number 10 for a nice round number. It's hard to overstress the special status of these pieces. Mozart worked on them (while doing other stuff in between) for more than 2 years which was very uncommon for him. They are hugely ambitious, taking some inspiration from Haydn but overall far longer, usually more complex, more passionate and daring than his op.33.
And for the historical perspective, some music (keyboard, chamber) was at least as much written with the players (and sometimes other composers) in mind as with the listeners. Not everything was a "once in a lifetime experience". Even pieces that could fall out of fashion rather quickly, like operas would usually be given a season or more at one place, they would be (often very slightly) overhauled and played again a few years later. Excerpts would be published for playing them at home. There are letters in which Mozart asks his father so send him music from his Salzburg years because he apparently wanted to perform some of his "juvenilia" in Vienna, in the case of the piano concerto K 175 he almost certainly "beefed it up" with a new finale and played it in Vienna despite the huge advancements he had made in this form in the almost 10 years in between.
While it was of course rather different from today (not the least because of recordings) it was not quite as ephemeral as one might think.
Quote from: Florestan on March 17, 2019, 01:42:43 AM
That is not my point. My point is that listening to a Mozart quartet in his days was more often than not a once-in-a-lifetime event.
Your point is factually incorrect, is my point.
Quote from: Mandryka on March 16, 2019, 12:50:01 AM
Oh come on . . . get a move on . . . we're all dying to know . . . you're the only one with both recordings. Come on . . . I'm going to die of suspense and excitement . . .
The envelope please.....
Mandryka's is different!I don't have time to go into specifics, I'll do that tonight when I have more time. But I have compared K387, Mvmt I, 1) my rip of the brown box, 2) a lossless (FLAC) download of the black box from presto classical, 3) mandrake's rip of the black box.
I found that the brown box was identical to the presto download of the black box (except for a different amount of silence at the beginning of the track, the download lagged by 1/40 of a second.) Other than that they were bit-for-bit identical in comparing the digital codes.
I found that the rip I got from mandryka was not identical to either of the other two versions. There were subtle waveform differences. I looked at a ~1ms sample of the waveform and found the codes typically shifted up or down by a bit or two. Interestingly there was no time shift relative to the brown box, absolutely none.
My conclusion:
Presto was lazy, they said "this release looks identical to those other releases, let's just copy the tracks over and call it the new release." So their download of the black box is identical to the brown box, even though the physical block box contains different masters.
I can't say whether mandryka's release was really remastered from the original tapes. Because the time synchronization was so spot on, I suspect they took their original master modified it, corrected the equalization, etc, reestablishing the 'silky sound' by that correction.
So Mandryka, your honor is preserved!
(Later I will post more details for the curious or disbelieving.)
I'm glad to hear it! And thanks for verifying.
To return to another issue, I think their EMI Mozart set is really very good, quartets and quintets. I can imagine that some people would prefer the quartets to the Teldec, and I don't mean just from the point of view of sound.
Well TTT after 5 years! ;D Today, I'm spending some time on selected discs from my String Quartet collection - has been culled over the years and have not had a recent listen - below are the sets owned.
For those new to these works, Mozart wrote 23 'String Quartets' - the first 13 are considered 'early works', composed between 1770-1773, i.e. his teenage years - the last 10 are his 'mature works', written between 1782-1790 (his Vienna years), thus nearly a ten year gap. The first 6 of the later group are the Haydn Quartets (K. 387, 421, 428, 458, 464, 465, Op. 10; 1782–1785) (LINK (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_compositions_by_Wolfgang_Amadeus_Mozart)).
Few have recorded the early quartets (including the Q. Italiano below); my other two sets are both the last 10 quartets (Mosaïques on PIs) - SO, anything new, such as the Armida Quartet who have done all (not available on Amazon USA at the moment) or reassessment/repackaging of some older favorites? For those interested, reviews attached of the ones in my possession + Armidas. Dave
(https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/61eB23DR23L._SL1400_.jpg) (https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41RP361m8YL._UF1000,1000_QL80_.jpg) (https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71XSDk8YC8L._UF1000,1000_QL80_.jpg)
@SonicMan46 Dave my favorite recording of the early quartets are from Festetics:
(https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fi.discogs.com%2FdEzentDimv19iDGlOQGO_Q5qzdyiLXmFgAveo2pZB6I%2Frs%3Afit%2Fg%3Asm%2Fq%3A90%2Fh%3A596%2Fw%3A600%2FczM6Ly9kaXNjb2dz%2FLWRhdGFiYXNlLWlt%2FYWdlcy9SLTEwMDgz%2FMzQ2LTE0OTEzMTE4%2FNDMtODk1NC5qcGVn.jpeg&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=0ee026113a9d52d7dac7fd1c8b38d8d1dd36dd2bde9e81332ea3dd3b9c528e7c&ipo=images)
And my favorite of the mature quartets are Leipziger:
(https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fpixhost.icu%2Favaxhome%2F31%2Fb0%2F0021b031.jpeg&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=c2cd3313ef6707c4b45a7e6189c279e10acc02180d5fd45a34e65d7be2bf2c86&ipo=images)
But it is a crowded field with many exceptional performances that I enjoy. :)
Quote from: DavidW on April 09, 2024, 08:44:44 AM@SonicMan46 Dave my favorite recording of the early quartets are from Festetics:
And my favorite of the mature quartets are Leipziger:
(https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fi.discogs.com%2FdEzentDimv19iDGlOQGO_Q5qzdyiLXmFgAveo2pZB6I%2Frs%3Afit%2Fg%3Asm%2Fq%3A90%2Fh%3A596%2Fw%3A600%2FczM6Ly9kaXNjb2dz%2FLWRhdGFiYXNlLWlt%2FYWdlcy9SLTEwMDgz%2FMzQ2LTE0OTEzMTE4%2FNDMtODk1NC5qcGVn.jpeg&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=0ee026113a9d52d7dac7fd1c8b38d8d1dd36dd2bde9e81332ea3dd3b9c528e7c&ipo=images) (https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fpixhost.icu%2Favaxhome%2F31%2Fb0%2F0021b031.jpeg&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=c2cd3313ef6707c4b45a7e6189c279e10acc02180d5fd45a34e65d7be2bf2c86&ipo=images)
But it is a crowded field with many exceptional performances that I enjoy. :)
Hi
David - thanks for the above info - I found the Festetics on Spotify and setup a playlist - available as a DL on Qobuz for $20; physical copies excessively priced on Discogs and eBay. Dave
Along with David's suggestions, I've also been perusing Amazon and came across the 'Complete' sets shown below - the reviews have looked quite good - the American String Quartet uses Stradivarius instruments on loan from the Smithsonian (recordings made in the mid-90s) - thanks for any comments. Dave
(https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/413V8N9962L.jpg) (https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/6102CmpIlCL._SL1425_.jpg)
I have two complete recordings: Italiano and Hagen (DG). The Italiano is very solid but maybe a bit "heavy" for the earlier quartets. The Hagen was recorded over a long time; the early quartets were done for the anniversary '91 while the others are from 10 years later (they re-recorded 2 quartets that been on an early single disc in the 80s) when the ensemble had become more adventurous/mannered (but not as much as on their post-DG recordings).
I am not sufficiently invested in the early works to get any more. Of the later ones I have a few more, often piecemeal, the main "complete" (wrt the 10 "great/late" quartets) was also my first recording, Alban-Berg-Quartett 1970s that holds up very well, I think.
On old instruments I only have one disc with the Mosaiques but couldn't be bothered to get the rest that is oop or expensive.
Does anyone remember Melos btw? This recording was my introduction to Mozart chamber music:
(https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fm.media-amazon.com%2Fimages%2FI%2F81V0pPZR09L._AC_SX569_.jpg&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=37833db0a5725ac517029978a3a7533f324ab70504a536d91d5b695d5e99e3b1&ipo=images)
I'm still fond of it.
My complete set is the Amadeus Quartet. Recorded in the 60's and 70's.
I heard Dudok Qt play K590 on Sunday. They said they wanted to explore a parlando style, and the cellist had a special new bow which makes the cello speak.
I felt it was more interesting than enjoyable actually - I suspect it's work in progress really and if and when it's released it'll be fabulous. It certainly was arresting at first, but sometimes it just felt too self conscious - pauses held longer than felt right, that sort of thing.
But I wonder if anyone knows of any commercial recordings they'd describe as parlando. Short phrases.
Anyone remember this old gem?
(https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71OmTuFCTOL._UF1000,1000_QL80_.jpg)
Quote from: DavidW on April 09, 2024, 03:22:16 PMAnyone remember this old gem?
(https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71OmTuFCTOL._UF1000,1000_QL80_.jpg)
I have it in this incarnation (below), after a lot of comparing on Spotify a few years back, I found that this was the one that I preferred over all others:
(https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41Cw7lDRgPL._UF500,500_QL80_.jpg)
I have the Talich, Amadeus, and Armida sets. In the earlier quartets, I don't think any of the three is clearly superior to the others.
For the later quartets I'm just as likely to take out individual CDs or sets of the Haydn quartets (f.i. Guarnieri) as I am to rely on a complete set.
Armida does mix them up chronologically, I might mention.
I have these works (the mature string quartets) by just about anybody.
I'll mention the Petersen Quartet on Capriccio, perhaps the best nineties recording.
The Amadeus had two versions. The mid-sixties integrale, but there's also an Original Masters edition of the fifties Westminster recordings.
I have a Budapest recording of the Prussian quartets.
There is the classic Juilliard recording.
Quote from: DavidW on April 09, 2024, 01:01:20 PMDoes anyone remember Melos btw? This recording was my introduction to Mozart chamber music:
(https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fm.media-amazon.com%2Fimages%2FI%2F81V0pPZR09L._AC_SX569_.jpg&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=37833db0a5725ac517029978a3a7533f324ab70504a536d91d5b695d5e99e3b1&ipo=images)
I'm still fond of it.
The Melos Quartet was badly treated by DG after they left (to make another bunch of recordings for harmonia mundi, although no Mozart, I think), i.e. a lot of their recordings have become oop since decades.
AFAIK their 1980s Beethoven was never reissued and the Mozart on CD only in two blue boxes from the early time of CDs (the two named quartets got several cheapo series reissues).
I have the "Haydn"-set and it is very good (beautiful sound, better probably than their later digital recordings of Beethoven) but could not find the Prussian+499 for a decent price that seems regarded even more highly. They are very "mainstream", though (more than the Beethoven, I think, that was fast and bold for its time almost 40 years ago.
I used to have the Melos recording of the 499 and Prussians on a reissue 2LP back in the seventies.
The Melos Prussian quartets are very agreeable indeed, natural and sweet and fluid and alive. But my real reason for posting is that I've just discovered lots of Melos Quartet recordings I was completely unaware of - released by SWR Music. I'm listening now to the gorgeous Reger op 109, and I can see some Hindemith, Bartok, Shostakovich, a CD of 20th century music by composers I've never heard of, Dvorak, the Mozart clarinet quartet . . .
Works like Max Reger's and Hindemith's used to belong to the standard repertoire of German string quartet ensembles. Audiences could take it.
My favorite performances for the ones dedicated to Haydn.
(https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71Ai5frThuL._SL1200_.jpg)
Quote from: Atriod on April 10, 2024, 10:00:14 AMMy favorite performances for the ones dedicated to Haydn.
(https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71Ai5frThuL._SL1200_.jpg)
Yes I like that very much, I only just realised that the cellist is Atsushi Sakaï, who plays viol on recordings with Rousset. The booklet is very interesting too
https://static.qobuz.com/goodies/22/000118322.pdf
Well, I ordered the American String Quartet set from Amazon for $25 (6 discs) as a replacement for my 'ole faithful' Quartetto Italiano - setup a back-to-back listening of the two groups in four works on Spotify - enjoyed the newer recording more; also read a bunch of reviews (attached), plus the price was right. Dave
(https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/413V8N9962L.jpg) (https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/61eB23DR23L._SL1400_.jpg)
On modern instruments, the Suske-Quartett recordings (not complete) are good, though I wouldn't venture to say best.
(https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51h0KoMw0NL._UX358_FMwebp_QL85_.jpg)
Quote from: Atriod on April 10, 2024, 10:00:14 AMMy favorite performances for the ones dedicated to Haydn.
(https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71Ai5frThuL._SL1200_.jpg)
I haven't heard of that quartet before now (hard for me to keep up!).
But why are they dragging that chair? ;)
I have a set of the quartets dedicated to Haydn with the Quatuor Ysaÿe (which I found inexpensively), but put it in a box of CDs to either resale or donate. I've decided to give it another try. Any fans of this group and/or recordings?
PD
Quote from: Pohjolas Daughter on April 13, 2024, 02:34:50 PMI have a set of the quartets dedicated to Haydn with the Quatuor Ysaÿe (which I found inexpensively), but put it in a box of CDs to either resale or donate. I've decided to give it another try. Any fans of this group and/or recordings?
PD
Yes I like that quartet, my two favorite albums of theirs are:
(https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41Vc-CvAHNL._UF1000,1000_QL80_.jpg)(https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41+Z7ejR+bL._UF1000,1000_QL80_.jpg)
Quote from: DavidW on April 13, 2024, 05:02:16 PMYes I like that quartet, my two favorite albums of theirs are:
(https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41Vc-CvAHNL._UF1000,1000_QL80_.jpg)(https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41+Z7ejR+bL._UF1000,1000_QL80_.jpg)
Have you heard the Mozart ones?
PD
Quote from: Pohjolas Daughter on April 13, 2024, 05:43:19 PMHave you heard the Mozart ones?
PD
I have them.
(https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71Qjzrxr47L._UF1000,1000_QL80_FMwebp_.jpg)
As good as anyone else--but there are a lot of "anyone elses" for these quartets.
A very good CD I have with them is Schumann's SQs. It's one of the recordings they did with Aeon.
Amazon listing is
https://www.amazon.com/String-Quartets-Op-41-1-3/dp/B00019IC6O/
Quote from: Pohjolas Daughter on April 13, 2024, 05:43:19 PMHave you heard the Mozart ones?
PD
Yes, I think they are good but I have other recordings that I prefer over them.
Thanks for the feedback gents! I'll give them another shot. :)
PD
Quote from: Pohjolas Daughter on April 13, 2024, 02:34:50 PMI haven't heard of that quartet before now (hard for me to keep up!).
But why are they dragging that chair? ;)
PD
Probably didn't want to play sitting on the grass ;D
Quote from: Atriod on April 14, 2024, 04:06:47 AMProbably didn't want to play sitting on the grass ;D
Where are the stage hands when you need them?! ;)
PD
Quote from: Pohjolas Daughter on April 13, 2024, 02:34:50 PMBut why are they dragging that chair? ;)
Because the photographer asked them to.
Photographers should be told more often "Why doncha do this yourself?"