Beethoven: String Quartets |
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Average Customer Rating: 
List Price: £8.99
Our Price: £4.93
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Binding: Audio CD
EAN: 0028947084723
Format: Box set
Label: Decca (UMO)
Manufacturer: Decca (UMO)
Number Of Discs: 2
Publisher: Decca (UMO)
Release Date: 2002-05-06
Running Time: 143
Studio: Decca (UMO) |
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Disc 1:
| 1. String Quartet No.7 in F major, Op.59 No.1 "Rasumovsky" - Beethoven | | 2. String Quartet No.10 in E-flat major, op.74 "Harp" - Beethoven |
Disc 2:
| 1. String Quartet No.8 in E minor Op.59 No.2 "Rasumovsky" - Beethoven | | 2. String Quartet No.9 in C major Op.59 No.3 "Rasumovsky" - Beethoven |
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Amazon.co.uk Review
Having toured the world with its Beethoven cycle as the old millennium entered the new, the Takacs Quartet now commits the same to disc. This two-CD set from Decca includes the three Razumovsky quartets, Op.59 of 1806, and the Harp Quartet, Op.74, sometimes known as the Lobkowitz after its dedicatee, composed in 1809. Although the latter's presto yields the fastest version of the fate motif Beethoven ever wrote, it is possible to go too quickly as the Takacs does here, making triplets of the first notes which are not written as such. The speed of the dazzling finale of the Razumovsky No 3 is impressive but just fails to grip as firmly as a slightly slower, more controlled performance might. The Thème Russe last movement of the Razumovsky No 1 on the other hand is a model of restraint, the playful parts entering from all angles with delightful measured precision, polished and perfect. The Takacs' music breathes as if in a meditative trance the broad, shallow arch of the molto adagio which lasts a satisfying quarter-hour in Razumovsky No 2. The four play best what is calculated and intricate like the theme and variations which conclude the Harp Quartet, giving each episode a distinct flavour. Variety is more important than usual on one-composer recordings such as this and the members of the Takacs Quartet prove themselves contemplative Beethovenians who occasionally mistake the gallop for a stampede. --Rick Jones
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Omaggi a Razumovsky, 2010-03-22
Temperamento e notevole padronanza tecnica caratterizzano questa esecuzione del quartetto ungherese Takacs, qui alle prese con alcuni tra i più affascinanti quartetti di Beethoven, collocati tra la produzione giovanile (op. 18) e i capolavori della maturità. Spiccano i tre quartetti dedicati al conte russo Razumovsky, in omaggio al quale Beethoven introduce temi e motivi di origine slava.
Compelling and irrestible, 2009-07-03
This can be short. The Takacs Quartet are superb. The music, long a favourite of mine, rises even further in my esteem. This makes at least five versions of these quartets that I have. I now think I have the final one. How could I find a better? Now I have to think. Can I afford a set of all the quartets by these players? Why not?
Just as good as I expected, 2010-07-13
I can't really add anything to the very positive reviews I read before buying these excellent discs. Another satisfied customer.
simply faultless - and interesting as well!, 2009-02-26
I play in an amateur string quartet and recently we've been working on Op. 59/1. BBC3's CD review picked the Takacs a couple of weeks ago as best for the Op. 95 'Serioso' Quartet, so I bought this 2-CD set with the Rasumovskys expecting it to be good, and it sure is! Each player is an individual and all are interesting (lovely viola playing, for example), but the ensemble and the extent to which the performances have been thought-through are just as impressive. Some of the work is really virtuosic (how does the first violin, Edward Dusinberre, manage the ornamental passage-work at the end of the first movement of Op. 74 at that hair-raising speed?) but quiet and lyrical moments are just as impressive and the slow movements of all four quartets are really lovely. No wonder this Quartet has won so many plaudits. At this ridiculously small price, these two CDs are a real bargain (there's a good multi-language booklet with them and useful notes by Misha Donat). If this is music you like, no need to hesitate! I see 'The Gramophone' Classical CD Guide rates it right at the top too.
A revelation and a bargain, 2009-09-27
I have recently bought this set from independent seller on Amazon and have to say the quartets, the recording and the playing are absolutely superb. There really is so much going on in the interplay between the members of the quartet and the recording is of the highest quality which really bounces the sound between the players. If you have been brought up on Mozart and Haydn chamber music [both of which I love] you will find so much more going on in these quartets and they really demand your undivided attention. You can buy these with confidence and get hours of listening pleasure.
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