Building a Library Recommendation

Beethoven: String Quartet No. 11 in F minor Op. 95

Reviewer – Stephen Johnson

First Choice Recommendation:

Takacs Quartet

Decca 4708492 (3 CDs, Mid Price)

Amazon.com
Some Quartets, like the Busch, Italiano, and Talich, have come close to the inner core of these supreme masterpieces. The Takács Quartet now joins those select few. From the opening chords of the Op. 127–firmly stated, perfectly blended, just gruff enough while still sounding beautiful–you know you’re in safe hands during this journey into the deepest, most timeless works in the repertory. Slow movements are always a major test here, and if the Takács doesn’t surpass some of the above-mentioned groups, they are superior to their present-day peers in conveying Beethoven’s deepest thinking while also attending to surface beauties. The Takács surpass the Emersons and Alban Berg Quartet(admirable as those performances are)in their interpretive insights and ensemble sound. But these masterpieces are so rich and dense that admirers need more than one version. The Takács are masters of Beethoven’s quick-changing contrasts, making them sound logical, even inevitable. While their playing is full of drive and forward motion, it’s never excessively energetic or overly lean. Of course, the Grosse Fugue is included, along with Beethoven’s substitute finale Opus 130 and the Opus 95 Quartet, making for three well-filled discs recorded in excellent sound. –Dan Davis

San Francisco Chronicle, 1/16/05
puts the seal on a complete cycle that promises to set a standard for such efforts through the coming decades.

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Historical Recommendation:

Busch Quartet, Rudolf Serkin (piano)

EMI 5653082 (4 CDs, Budget)

Also available on EMI Great Recordings of the Century series 5096552 (3 CDs, Mid Price)

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Next week Daniel Leech-Wilkinson examines recordings of Schubert’s song cycle, Winterreise.