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In Reply to: RE: Recommend some good Bartok Qt #4 posted by andy evans on August 20, 2014 at 10:55:04
Some, including a regular AA poster, swear by the Juilliard's 1950 Bartok cycle, which helped establish them as one of the world's best string quartets, if not the best.
But, imo the sound quality is truly bad, even by 1950 standards. Another famous old cycle, by the Vegh Quartet, also has very bad sound quality.
The Juilliard's 1963 cycle, in stereo, sounds vastly better. But the cellist then, Claus Adam, had an entirely different approach than original cellist Arthur Winograd, more ensemble oriented. I like the Claus Adam version at least as much as the original, some don't.
Since then, there have been some fine versions, the Emerson Quartet, for example. But none I've heard have yet knocked the Juilliard off the top pedestal.
Follow Ups:
"Some, including a regular AA poster, swear by the Juilliard's 1950 Bartok cycle"I found the first movement of this rather underpowered. Of what I've heard, I like Vegh Qt older mono, Hungarian Qt DG stereo, and quite like the Vermeer on casual listening. Also the Fine Arts which I used to have on LP. Keller is pretty OK. Less keen on the Takacs in this work.
Listening right now to and liking the Tokyo DG in this, and I like their DG version of #6 also. They are very focussed, have a lovely sound and bring out the lyrical qualities. Others I should try and hear include the 1963 Juilliard, Tatrai and Zehetmair.
Right now I'm liking the Hungarian on DG - seem to be maybe the most lyrical - and the mono Vegh (love their Beethoven too) but the search goes on.
Edits: 08/20/14 08/20/14
Interesting comments about SQ - and I agree with you! SQ is a very important factor (almost a decisive factor!) in selecting a recording of these works IMHO. For this reason, my go-to performance these days is:
. . . the Mantovani of Bartok! ;-)
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