Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven
Performer: Yale String Quartet
Number of Discs: 3
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Vanguard
Release: 2006
Size: 863 MB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: cover
CD 01
Quartet No. 12 In E Flat Major, Op. 127
01. 1. Maestoso; Allegro
02. II. Adagio, Ma Non Troppo E Molto Cantabile
03. III. Scherzando Vivace; Presto
04. IV. Finale
Quartet No. 14, Op. 131
05. I. Adagio Ma Non Troppo E Molto Espressivo
06. II. Allegro Molto Vivace
07. III. Allegro Moderato
08. IV. Andante Ma No Troppo E Molto Cantabile
09. V. Presto
10. VI. Adagio, Quasi Un Poco Andante
11. VII. Allegro
CD 02
Quartet No. 13, Op. 130
01. I. Adagio Ma Non Troppo; Allegro
02. II.presto
03. III. Andante Con Moto Ma Non Troppo
04. IV. Alla Danza Tedesca: Llegro Assai
05. V. Adagio Moto Expressivo
06. VI. Finale: Allegro
07. Grosse Fuge, Op. 133
CD 03
Quartet No. 15, Op. 132
01. I. Assai Sostenuto: Allegro
02. II. Allegro, Ma Non Tanto
03. III. Molto Adagio – “heiliger Dankgesang Eines Genesenen An Die Gottheit, In Der Lydischen Tonart”; Andante.
04. IV. All Marica, Assai Vivace
05. V. Allegro Appassionato
Quartet No. 16, Op. 135
06. I. Allegretto
07. II. Vivace
08. III. Lento Assai, Cantante E Tranquillo
09. IV. “der Schwe Gefasste Entschluss”: Grave Ma Non Troppo Tratto, “muss Es Soin?”: Allegro, “es Muss Sein!”
Originally released in the late ’60s and early ’70s, the Yale String Quartet’s recordings of Beethoven’s late quartets were the special favorites of the cerebral set. Renown for their acuity, austerity, and asceticism, the Yale’s recordings were equally praised for their warmth, wit, and humanity. In their time, the Yale’s performances were said to be on the same level as the Amadeus Quartet’s sweetly lucid performances, the Quartetto Italiano’s tonally beautiful performances, and even the Quatour Végh’s sublimely spiritual performances. But while those groups’ recordings have remained in print more or less continuously down through the digital era, the Yale Quartet’s recordings returned again only briefly on CD, then departed almost as quickly. In this superb 2006 reissue, the Yale Quartet’s late quartets have once more come back into print — and they sound every bit as good as their reputation. From the simple serenity of the Cavatina to the intellectual vigor of the Grosse Fuge or the ecstatic rapture of the Heiliger Dankgesang, the Yale Quartet is wholly as one with every aspect of the music and expresses it all in waves of overwhelming intensity. Anyone who loves the late quartets should hear these performances. Fine in its time, Vanguard’s stereo recording sounds crisper and deeper on CD. Possibly it’s the loss of all that surface noise.