Beethoven String Quartets

The third volume of the Borodin Quartet's long-awaited digital set of Beethoven's cycle presents one bold work from the end of the middle period, the String Quartet in F minor, Op. 95; the deeply moving late masterpiece, the String Quartet in C sharp minor, Op. 131; and the sui generis Grosse Fuge in B flat major, Op. 133, which is treated here as a quartet in its own right.

Still at it and still pretty good at it even if not as good at it as it used to be, the Borodin Quartet continues to record with only cellist Valentin Berlinsky still on hand from the Borodin Quartet of the '60s. With a powerful attack and an expressive tone, the new Borodin Quartet is a fine ensemble. But although the attack is powerful, it's not the old Borodin's attack. The angle of attack is different, the point is different, the moment is different.

The Guarneri quartet offers very effective approaches to both the E flat quartet, Op. 74, and the C sharp minor quartet, Op. 131. These late (1988) Philips recordings are in my view superior to Guarneri's earlier accounts of the same Beethoven quartets on RCA Beethoven: The String Quartets/ Grosse Fuge . Usually it is risky to opt for late remakes, if a string quartet is playing in one and the same membership for many decades: veteran players typically masque their diminished technical abilities by various mannerisms and pretentious conceptions. Here it is not the case. The 1988 Philips version is just as secure as the RCA version from the sixties but is more nuanced.

This is a very complete set indeed. It includes all the quartets in the latest edition prepared by Jonathan Del Mar which restores many important markings by Beethoven and which has been done in collaboration with the Endellion Quartet. Both versions of the first quartet or included as well as Beethoven's quartet arrangement of the piano sonata Op. 14 no. 1. the Gross Fuge, both string quintets plus other works for string quartet including the two prelude and fugues.

This set of Beethoven string quartets by the Borodin Quartet reflects a mature perspective on the works. It's not that it lacks energy the Vivaces are vivacious and the Allegros have plenty of brio but it has wisdom and a maturity not generally characteristic of performances by younger quartets. These performances are comparable with the Budapest Quartet's last set of the quartets.

Beethoven's String Quartets are well known for their inventiveness. The mold of the string quartet form, established by Haydn, was shattered by Beethoven's profound expression and expansion of the "rules." Between 1999 and 2003, the renowned Pražák Quartet recorded all of the Beethoven string quartets, and this match of program and performers is one made in heaven.

I first heard the late string quartets of Beethoven in my teens, on a budget price LP on the French Musidisc label. I don’t remember much about the performances; one movement that sticks in my mind is the slow movement of Op. 127, which was played at an expansive tempo, and took around twenty minutes. However I do remember the liner-notes, which were obviously translated by someone for whom English was not their first language.

The Zurich-based Valentin Berlinsky Quartet, named in honour of the legendary founding cellist of the Borodin Quartet, debuts on Avie with the first in a series of recordings pairing the works of Beethoven and Shostakovich.

Beethoven - String Quartets op. 18/3, 18/5 & 135 - Hagen Quartett (2013) {Myrios Classics MYR009}
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© 2013 Myrios Classics | MYR009
Classical / Strings / Chamber Music

Following an extraordinary 30th anniversary season spent touring the complete Beethoven string quartets to musical centers around the world, including Tokyo, Paris, London, Vienna and Salzburg, the Hagen Quartet went directly from stage to studio to record three of their favorite Beethoven quartets. With the selection of op. 18/3, 18/5, and op. 135, the album ranges from the very first to the very last string quartet Beethoven wrote.