COMPOSERS: Beethoven
LABELS: ASV
WORKS: String Quartet in E flat, Op. 127B flat, Op. 130; String Quartet in C sharp minor, Op. 131; String Quartet in A minor, Op. 132; String Quartet in F, Op. 135; Grosse Fuge in B flat, Op. 133
PERFORMER: Lindsay String Quartet
CATALOGUE NO: CD DCS 403 DDD (1987)
One of the pinnacles of Western chamber music, Beethoven’s late string quartets are still among the most extraordinary and dramatic works in the genre. With their abrupt changes of tempo and dynamics, their beautiful reveries set amidst passages of desperate agitation, the five quartets seem at times to show Beethoven straining at the very limits of musical form. The Lindsays play these pieces with a passionate commitment that not only highlights the turbulent grandeur of the music but also makes it startlingly real. Superbly recorded and now reissued in a mid-price, four-CD set, these electrifying performances cannot be too highly recommended. Graham Lock
Beethoven: String Quartet in E flat, Op. 127B flat, Op. 130; String Quartet in C sharp minor, Op. 131; String Quartet in A minor, Op. 132; String Quartet in F, Op. 135; Grosse Fuge in B flat, Op. 133
One of the pinnacles of Western chamber music, Beethoven’s late string quartets are still among the most extraordinary and dramatic works in the genre. With their abrupt changes of tempo and dynamics, their beautiful reveries set amidst passages of desperate agitation, the five quartets seem at times to show Beethoven straining at the very limits of musical form. The Lindsays play these pieces with a passionate commitment that not only highlights the turbulent grandeur of the music but also makes it startlingly real.
Our rating
5
Published: January 20, 2012 at 3:15 pm