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Beethoven - The Complete String Quartets / Alban Berg Quartet

Ludwig van Beethoven - Beethoven - The Complete String Quartets / Alban Berg Quartet Audio CD

A fair review of the Ludwig van Beethoven "Beethoven - The Complete String Quartets / Alban Berg Quartet" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Ludwig van Beethoven reviews here, or go back to the Ludwig van Beethoven tabs.

Band: Ludwig van Beethoven
Title: Beethoven - The Complete String Quartets / Alban Berg Quartet
Rating:

Release Date: 1999-11-16
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: String Quartet No. 1 in F major, Op. 18/1: I. Allegro con brio 2: String Quartet No. 1 in F major, Op. 18/1: II. Adagio affettuoso ed appassionato 3: String Quartet No. 1 in F major, Op. 18/1: III. Scherzo (Allegro molto) & Trio 4: String Quartet No. 1 in F major, Op. 18/1: IV. Allegro 5: String Quartet No. 7 in F major ('Rasumovsky 1'), Op. 59/1: I. Allegro 6: String Quartet No. 7 in F major ('Rasumovsky 1'), Op. 59/1: II. Allegretto vivace e sempre scherzando 7: String Quartet No. 7 in F major ('Rasumovsky 1'), Op. 59/1: III. Adagio molto e mesto / IV. Allegro (Th�me russe) 8: String Quartet No. 2 in G major ('Compliments'), Op. 18/2: I. Allegro 9: String Quartet No. 2 in G major ('Compliments'), Op. 18/2: II. Adagio cantabile 10: String Quartet No. 2 in G major ('Compliments'), Op. 18/2: III. Scherzo (Allegro) & Trio 11: String Quartet No. 2 in G major ('Compliments'), Op. 18/2: IV. Allegro molto, quasi presto 12: String Quartet No. 6 in B flat major, Op. 18/6: I. Allegro con brio 13: String Quartet No. 6 in B flat major, Op. 18/6: II. Adagio, ma non troppo 14: String Quartet No. 6 in B flat major, Op. 18/6: III. Scherzo (Allegro) & Trio 15: String Quartet No. 6 in B flat major, Op. 18/6: IV. Adagio (La Malinconia) - Allegretto quasi Allegro 16: String Quartet No. 16 in F major, Op. 135: I. Allegretto 17: String Quartet No. 16 in F major, Op. 135: II. Vivace 18: String Quartet No. 16 in F major, Op. 135: III. Lento assai, cantate e tranquillo 19: String Quartet No. 16 in F major, Op. 135: IV. Grave, ma non troppo tratto - Allegro 20: String Quartet No. 3 in D major, Op. 18/3: I. Allegro 21: String Quartet No. 3 in D major, Op. 18/3: II. Andante con moto 22: String Quartet No. 3 in D major, Op. 18/3: III. Allegro 23: String Quartet No. 3 in D major, Op. 18/3: IV. Presto 24: String Quartet No. 5 in A major, Op. 18/5: I. Allegro 25: String Quartet No. 5 in A major, Op. 18/5: II. Menuetto & Trio 26: String Quartet No. 5 in A major, Op. 18/5: III. Andante cantabile 27: String Quartet No. 5 in A major, Op. 18/5: IV. Allegro 28: String Quartet No. 11 in F minor ('Serioso'), Op. 95: I. Allegro con brio 29: String Quartet No. 11 in F minor ('Serioso'), Op. 95: II. Allegretto ma non troppo / III. Allegro assai vivace, ma serioso 30: String Quartet No. 11 in F minor ('Serioso'), Op. 95: IV. Larghetto espressivo - Allegretto agitato - Allegro 31: String Quartet No. 4 in C minor, Op. 18/4: I. Allegro ma non tanto 32: String Quartet No. 4 in C minor, Op. 18/4: II. Scherzo (Andante scherzoso quasi Allegretto) 33: String Quartet No. 4 in C minor, Op. 18/4: III. Menuetto (Allegretto) & Trio 34: String Quartet No. 4 in C minor, Op. 18/4: IV. Allegro 35: String Quartet No. 13 in B flat major, Op. 130: I. Adagio ma non troppo - Allegro 36: String Quartet No. 13 in B flat major, Op. 130: II. Presto 37: String Quartet No. 13 in B flat major, Op. 130: III. Andante con moto, ma non troppo 38: String Quartet No. 13 in B flat major, Op. 130: IV. Ala danza tedesca (Allegro assai) 39: String Quartet No. 13 in B flat major, Op. 130: V. Cavatina (Adagio molto espressivo) 40: Fugue for string quartet in B flat major ('Grosse Fuge'), Op. 133 41: String Quartet No. 13 in B flat major, Op. 130: VI. Finale 42: String Quartet No. 8 in E minor ('Rasumovsky 2'), Op. 59/2: I. Allegro 43: String Quartet No. 8 in E minor ('Rasumovsky 2'), Op. 59/2: II. Molto Adagio 44: String Quartet No. 8 in E minor ('Rasumovsky 2'), Op. 59/2: III. Allegretto 45: String Quartet No. 8 in E minor ('Rasumovsky 2'), Op. 59/2: IV. Finale (Presto) 46: String Quartet No. 12 in E flat major, Op. 127: I. Maestoso - Allegro 47: String Quartet No. 12 in E flat major, Op. 127: II. Adagio ma non troppo, molto cantabile 48: String Quartet No. 12 in E flat major, Op. 127: III. Scherzando vivace 49: String Quartet No. 12 in E flat major, Op. 127: IV. Finale 50: String Quartet No. 9 in C major ('Rasumovsky 3'), Op. 59/3: I. Introduzione (Andante con moto) - Allegro vivace 51: String Quartet No. 9 in C major ('Rasumovsky 3'), Op. 59/3: II. Andante con moto quasi allegretto 52: String Quartet No. 9 in C major ('Rasumovsky 3'), Op. 59/3: III. Menuetto (Grazioso) & Trio / IV. Allegro molto 53: Op. 131 In C Sharp Minor: I: Adagio ma non troppo e molto espressivo 54: Op. 131 In C Sharp Minor: II: Allegro molto vivace 55: Op. 131 In C Sharp Minor: III: Allegro moderato 56: Op. 131 In C Sharp Minor: IV: Andante ma non troppo e molto cantabile 57: Op. 131 In C Sharp Minor: V: Presto 58: Op. 131 In C Sharp Minor: VI: Adagio quasi un poco andante 59: String Quartet No. 14 in C sharp minor, Op. 131: VII. Allegro 60: String Quartet No. 10 in E flat major ('Harp'), Op. 74: I. Poco adagio - Allegro 61: String Quartet No. 10 in E flat major ('Harp'), Op. 74: II. Adagio ma non troppo 62: String Quartet No. 10 in E flat major ('Harp'), Op. 74: III. Presto / IV. Allegretto con Variazioni 63: String Quartet No. 15 in A minor ('Heiliger Dankgesang'), Op. 132: I. Allegro sostenuto - Allegro 64: String Quartet No. 15 in A minor ('Heiliger Dankgesang'), Op. 132: II. Allegro ma non tanto 65: String Quartet No. 15 in A minor ('Heiliger Dankgesang'), Op. 132: III. Molto adagio 66: String Quartet No. 15 in A minor ('Heiliger Dankgesang'), Op. 132: IV. Alla marcia, assai vivace 67: String Quartet No. 15 in A minor ('Heiliger Dankgesang'), Op. 132: V. Allegro appassionato

very well done
This collection is well played with the very minor exception of the first 'Rasumovsky' which just lacked the energy. I readily admit to not being a scholar of Beethoven's quartets, just an enthusiastic admirer. I would have preferred the CD's to have the quartets arranged by order of composition. It's nice to hear, say, just the late quartets without loading half a dozen different CD's.

The Fifth Version
you don't need to go to extreemes like I do, because I enjoy doin it so, but just give this VERSION a shot and judge for your self. Without shame I must confess I have eight versions of this CD, Different interpreters, Some Good, Some better but this particular CD somehow has captured my ear.

EMI is not to be Trusted
I purchased an EMI box set "Shostakovich: The Complete Symphonies - Mariss Jansons (10 CD). On May 1st of 2008. " I absolutely love 9 of the 10 disks in this set. Disk six is defective. I have tried it in three different CD players or computer CD drives. The disk will play in all three, but there is persistent noise and crackling on top of the music throughout the disk. There are no scratches or apparent damage. I think it's a bad pressing or some other form of manufacturing defect. Another reviewer made this comment on this set giving it one star. As the disk does not appear to have any damage and in light of the experience of the other reviewer, an exchange does not seem to have a high likelihood of resolving the problem.

I proposed that Amazon give me a discount on another recording of Shostakovich's 7th, the only symphony on disk six. Since I had not listened to all 14 symphonies within 30 days to check them for defects, Amazon would not compensate me in any fashion. I bought another recording of the 7th, no big deal.

Fast forward to February 18th, 2009. I purchase another EMI box set: Beethoven - The Complete String Quartets / Alban Berg Quartet. The last two minutes of the first disk, the final movement of Quartet in F major, Op. 59 No. 1, the first "Rasumovsky" quartet is full of skips and other sound defects. Nothing visible. It's factory direct incompetence. I'm now checking the other disks, but its March 20th. Burned again. Fortunately in this instance, I already have another set of Beethoven's middle string quartets. Hopefully it's just the one disk. I'll have to listen to find out. I understand if a box set is labeled a "budget" set because there may be a consensus that there are better recordings available, more highly appreciated interpretations, or both, but the CD should work, and one shouldn't have to listen to 5, 10, or 20 hours of music as soon as they buy it to ensure they're not getting screwed. I'll never buy another disk from EMI again. I've bought 100s of CDs and to have this happen twice in six months with the same label is simply unacceptable. They are now black listed. It's a shame, because the music's great, but I cannot stomach giving EMI another penny. How much can they possibly be saving by failing to implement reasonable quality control in their factories?.

Beethoven - The Complete String Quartets / Alban Berg Quartet
Briefly, I was pleased with the quality of the recordings and, as always, the CD's were well packaged.

Beethoven Quartets
95. I am very upset as I had to pay customs duty on his article £12. There was no indication I may have to pay this customes duty when I purcghased the item. Most upset. Will not use your service again
Michael Redington.

You can see a complete list of all Ludwig van Beethoven discography, or go back to the Ludwig van Beethoven tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.