! ! ! Beethoven - The Complete String Quartets - Quartetto Italiano

I just finished listening to Opus 59 No. 1 and had to write. This is one of the greatest recordings of the one of the greatest quartets played by one of the greatest quartets I have ever heard. Perhaps the greatest.



The Quartetto Italiano had the perfect intonation, phrasing, tone, and dynamics that one expects from a modern quartet (they performed from 1945 to 1981), but their musical intelligence, their sense of line, and their intense and continuous concentration was extraordinary. I listened to the great third movement with tears running down my cheeks, I don't remember that happening since a performance by the Tokyo at Caramoor many years ago.



The recording is technically perfect, clean and clear with appropriate channel separation. It sounds like four mikes with the mix done by a musical and technical expert. The original recordings were made in Switzerland between 1967 and 1975 and may have been remixed for these CDs. Whoever worked on this Phillips release deserves the thanks of all chamber music fans.







Enjoy and Seed!!