Thread: String Quartet talks, what do you like etc ?

Hip? Like in string quartets with post-classical influences like the Balanescu Quartet; Vitamin String Quartet; The Section Quartet who cover Radiohead and Paranoid Android pop songs ...or even The Kronos or the Shanghai Quartet who do ethnic influenced music; or the Silesian Quartet who record with electronic tape as well as vocals and Polish rock stars; or maybe the Ginastera and Villas-Lobos string quartets which are hip for their naturally Latinamerican swing

Originally Posted by Llyranor

Any HIP SQ listeners? I've been eyeing classical-era SQ's, and would be interested in HIP recommendations.

Quatuor Mosaiques' Haydn is incredible. Sample: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCXg8xo31h0.

After a bit of investigative work, I opted to purchase some Haydn/Mozart/Beethoven HIP recordings by Quatuor Mosaiques and Festetics, with even a bit of Schubert/Mendelssohn as a nice bonus!

What have I done??

Also, are there no HIP recordings of Beethoven's late SQ's? Can't seem to find any.

@Llyranor , in my excel file of Beethoven recordings, the Brentano String Quartet and Talich SQ, I think they are playing in period instrument, worth checking.



http://amzn.to/PBbW4p (amazon)



http://amzn.to/O2QGH0

I know that the Talich Quartet plays on modern instruments, I have several of their recordings. As for the Brentano Quartet, I know the name but have not heard them play.

Originally Posted by jalex

Quatuor Mosaiques' Haydn is incredible. Sample: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCXg8xo31h0.

This is fantastic, thanks. Luxuriant tempo without drag. I thought that the Takacs recordings were unbeatable until now.

Just seen this at Amazon, Johan Baptist Vanhal, the guy who played cello in all stars quartet Mozart-Haydn-Dittersdorf-Vanhal is with a new CD of string quartet. Vanhal reportly composed 50+ string quartets but very less get recorded.



http://amzn.to/NYh474


and new nine string quartets by Gloria Coates from Naxos


http://amzn.to/QhTcqX

I don't listen to a lot of string quartets at this point; I tend to prefer other forms of chamber music. However, there are a few I really enjoy:

Death and the Maiden: Schubert
String Quartet in E Flat Minor: Tchaikovsky
String Quartet in G Minor: Debussy

For Haydn, try the amazing series of Praga Digitals with three (!) great groups (The older Kocian, the great Parkanyi and the superb Prazak String Quartets). The have embarked so far on the major ones, from op.20, going onwards. They take their time, but the results deserve all the superlatives and the recordings are mostly on glorious and very detailed SACD.
The Prazak's Beethoven is a reference (in great SACD sound) recording. Likewise their Brahms.

Principe

Originally Posted by principe

For Haydn, try the amazing series of Praga Digitals with three (!) great groups (The older Kocian, the great Parkanyi and the superb Prazak String Quartets). The have embarked so far on the major ones, from op.20, going onwards. They take their time, but the results deserve all the superlatives and the recordings are mostly on glorious and very detailed SACD.
The Prazak's Beethoven is a reference (in great SACD sound) recording. Likewise their Brahms.

Principe

The Prazak Quartet seem opulent in consistency throughout their recorded works. I had long cherished the Italian Quartet's supremo numero uno recording of the Schubert D887 No. XV string quartet - sure, there are credible versions out there by the Gabrieli Quartet of an earlier generation; the Taneyev Quartet on a rather lean recording, and the Hagen Quartet's diligently suave recording too.

But none of these (apart from the Italian Quartet) rake it past to that top notch and really reveal insights into Schubert's masterpiece, in ways I've never heard before.

Similarly - their joint recordings of the complete Martinu string quartets revelled in penetrating insights throughout their recordings, making the Panocha and Stamitz cycles seem rather pedestrian. I guess their limited appeal was due to the marketing limitations of Praga Digitalis, and their ill-fated venture on SACD (where is the format now?), as well as coupling the rest of the cycle with the relatively unknown but superb Zemlinsky Quartet.

The Prazak's other contributions which I love include the Concerto de Camera (Martinu) as well as their more standard Czech repertoire - Dvorak's late quartets are just masterpieces in their hands.

Can't comment about their Beethoven & Brahms....music too early for me to delve into, and I have more serviceable recordings.

Try the Prazak on their two Schubert's recordings: the String Quintet and the last String Quartet in G major. They are amazingly brilliant.
Lately, they had a very fine Schoenberg recording too. Their discography is truly superb.
SACD sounds fine and it's still out there fine and well.
Praga Digitals works pretty well in the non-Anglophone countries...unfortunately.

Principe

Principe

The String Quartet in G Major is the D887 No. XV!

That's the very one I was raving about. I bought the score some time ago just to follow the music. I first heard the D887 after a girlfriend introduced it to me. It's carried me through all these years and is unceasing in its emotive power well after we did a facebook equivalent of 'you've been dumped' lol.

now can we organize a movie viewing meet up....

A Late Quartet, the movie




info and trailer http://wearemoviegeeks.com/2012/09/w...ron-zilberman/

It is always fascinating to listen to opera composers compose String Quartets. Verdi, Donizetti and Richard Strauss wrote at least one each. Giovanni Paisiello (1740-1816) was a prolific opera composer. He also wrote about nine SQ. Unfortunately this series began and stopped with volume 1? Historically informed performance practice but using old and not so old instruments from 1836 to 1988.

I confess I rarely ever watch any American films. Listening to the accents of this film was quite strange.

The producers' remarks about the love of the string quartet, and bringing in the depth of the Beethoven cycle is lovely. I hope it opens up a new audience to the intimate world of the string quartet.