Beethoven: The Early Quartets no.1-6 op. 18 (3 CD, FLAC)

Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven
Performer: Quartetto Italiano
Audio CD
SPARS Code: ADD
Number of Discs: 3
Format: FLAC (tracks+cue)
Label: Philips
Size: 734 MB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes

Disc 1
01. String Quartet No.1 in F, Op.18 No.1 – 1. Allegro con brio
02. String Quartet No.1 in F, Op.18 No.1 – 2. Adagio affettuoso ed appassionato
03. String Quartet No.1 in F, Op.18 No.1 – 3. Scherzo (Allegro molto)
04. String Quartet No.1 in F, Op.18 No.1 – 4. Allegro
05. String Quartet No.2 in G, Op.18 No.2 – 1. Allegro
06. String Quartet No.2 in G, Op.18 No.2 – 2. Adagio cantabile – Allegro – Tempo I
07. String Quartet No.2 in G, Op.18 No.2 – 3. Scherzo (Allegro)
08. String Quartet No.2 in G, Op.18 No.2 – 4. Allegro molto, quasi presto

Disc 2
01. String Quartet No.3 in D, Op.18 No.3 – 1. Allegro
02. String Quartet No.3 in D, Op.18 No.3 – 2. Andante con moto
03. String Quartet No.3 in D, Op.18 No.3 – 3. Allegro
04. String Quartet No.3 in D, Op.18 No.3 – 4. Presto
05. String Quartet No.4 in C minor, Op.18 No.4 – 1. Allegro ma non tanto
06. String Quartet No.4 in C minor, Op.18 No.4 – 2. Andante scherzoso, quasi allegretto
07. String Quartet No.4 in C minor, Op.18 No.4 – 3. Menuetto (Allegretto)
08. String Quartet No.4 in C minor, Op.18 No.4 – 4. Allegro

Disc 3
01. String Quartet No.5 in A, Op.18 No.5 – 1. Allegro
02. String Quartet No.5 in A, Op.18 No.5 – 2. Menuetto
03. String Quartet No.5 in A, Op.18 No.5 – 3. Andante cantabile
04. String Quartet No.5 in A, Op.18 No.5 – 4. Allegro
05. String Quartet No.6 in B flat, Op.18 No.6 – 1. Allegro con brio
06. String Quartet No.6 in B flat, Op.18 No.6 – 2. Adagio ma non troppo
07. String Quartet No.6 in B flat, Op.18 No.6 – 3. Scherzo (Allegro)
08. String Quartet No.6 in B flat, Op.18 No.6 – 4. La Malinconia (Adagio – Allegretto quasi allegro – Adagio – Allegretto – Poco adagio – Prestissimo)

Elegant, lyrical early Beethoven quartets from the Quartetto Italiano

Beethoven’s 16 string quartets are, along with Bach’s cantatas and Mozart’s piano concertos, among the finest single genre sets in music history. Beethoven provides daunting and satisfying music for his string players: as a cellist I’ve observed how difficult it is to hold the center together. The quartets are heavily contrapuntal, each player is given an independent melodic line as if Beethoven were showcasing four soloists. Constant tension keeps pulling the players apart in a slow motion explosion. In the late quartets this is cruelly exacerbated by Beethoven’s spreadsheet compositional sketching technique (he would have adored a PC) which he developed as a result of his total deafness. He drafted large sections of the quartet over and over again in full score so that he could more effectively manipulate all four parts. All of the instruments function polyphonically while (hopefully) blending together harmonically. Beethoven substituted eyesight for his ravaged hearing. As if this weren’t hard enough, Beethoven uses frequent changes of time. In the second movement of the Quartet in E flat major op.127, he writes a set of 4 variations based on a theme in 12/8, the 2nd and 3rd variations are in different metres; in the 3rd movement the metre switches from triple time to 2/4 repeatedly; in the 4th movement the coda switches to 6/8. The early Op.18 quartets, though often looking backwards at the elegance and earthiness of the quartets written by Beethoven’s teacher and model, Joseph Haydn, still contain all of Beethoven’s raw energy and display his inevitable primal force. Their strange modernity induced Haydn to give up writing in the quartet genre, as he was faced by something undeniably different and great. Their dynamism was disturbing, but they were only a hint of what was to come.

The key to maintaining some semblance of order in all of his quartets, but especially the final ones, lies in the judicious use of dynamics: both for expressive effect and to facilitate Beethoven’s ceaseless oscillations between his boisterous public utterances and his often tortured private, solipsistic musings. The Grosse Fuge is constantly breaking strings and bows, and scraping skin off my knuckles or palms. Arm strength and finger pressure are often all that lies between the player and sonic chaos. The Quartetto Italiano are masters of dynamics in these early quartets. Their playing is suave and lyrical by nature: thus they require sophisticated technique to convey some of the energy and drama in these pieces, and to prevent a blandness of conception from creeping in. They play with force and power when it’s called for; though they are never angry the way the Emerson and Guarneri Quartets often are, nor are they merely sullen as the Alban Berg Quartet can be at times. The Melos Quartet seem never to have mastered the need for occasional raw energy in their otherwise good set. And the Budapest Quartet were always extremely civilized in their Beethoven. The Quartetto Italiano were probably the critically top rated set in the 70’s and 80’s, primarily for the shimmery sonic beauty of their sound and the gorgeous lyricism of their playing. But all of that was made possible by their mastery of Beethoven’s use of dynamics. Their special sound is beautifully captured in this remastered 3 CD set of the early Op.18 string quartets. Beethoven’s string quartets are so great that they justify as many interpretations your budget can handle. This set is unique in its beauty, its lyrical elegance, in its brilliant stylishness. It is a cornerstone in any collection of Beethoven’s magnificent string quartets. Most strongly recommended.