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Re: Beethoven String Quartets

Posted by Dr. T on May 21, 1999 at 07:44:12:
OK, to be more specific:
In Op 132 the Yale are absolutely my favorite--especially in the slow movement, which for me is one of the greatest glories of recording history.
In Op 127, the Vegh are absolutely my favorite. Again its the slow movement. If you will indulge me using somewhat risky language to express my feeling about these two performances (the Yale in 132 and the Vegh in 127), I would say that they do better than any other I have heard of bringing the listener (at least this one) to a direct encounter with the transcendent, in all its terrifying sublimity (in the Kantian sense of the sublime). The Veghs get way more out of the middle quartets than anyone else, all their readings of the late quartets are magnificent. For anyone seeking one complete set, this is it.
The one negative rap on the Vegh is that their playing is not as polished as has become the norm these days. Their intonation and ensemble does not match the Italians, Tokyo, Emersons, or Alban Berg. A very small, insignificant criticism in comparison to the depth and utter "rightness" of their interpretations. The Busch is the only other quartet to consistently equal them (the Yale surpass them in Op 132, but fall slightly short in the others) in terms of the greatness of their interpretation, and they are far more polished in their playing (astonishingly so). But the problem with the Busch is the 1930s sound). Bottom line is that the serious Beethoven quartet devotee MUST have the Vegh in the middle and late quartets. There is a Vangard CD with the Yale doing op 132 and 135, and that is absolutely indispensible. There are individual performances by the Busch and Quartetto Italiano--the former indispensible and the latter highly recommended.
The early quartets are rather lighter weight and so a number of modern, well recorded alternatives are fully adequate. The Alban Berg and Tokyo are fine, and given the glorious sound quality might be preferred to the older recordings (frankly, the sound of the Vegh recordings is not especially good even for 1974). The one quartet from the Op 18 set where the transcendental qualities of the late Beethoven is already abundantly displayed is the slow movemnt in Op 18, no. 1. Here again it is the Vegh that take it to higher plane.
Hope this helps.