Search - Ludwig van Beethoven, Lindsay String Quartet :: String Quartet No. 14 in c#

Profound Understanding of the Composer's Intentions

L. Benjamin | Savannah, GA | 09/17/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Beethoven's late string quartets were ahead of their time in their breaking free of the strictures of contemporary quartet writing. This one in particular is unusual in that the individual movements (except the final one) do not develop their themes in the conventional way; instead they create what is more akin to an atmosphere, similar to Debussy nearly a century later. The Lindsay Quartet understands this, and succeeds in communicating this atmosphere. This is immediately apparent in the first movement -- the exceedingly beautiful and hypnotic interplay between the instruments sounds like something written in the 20th century rather than the 19th. After hearing the Lindsay, other versions sound confused, as if the players were not sure what they were dealing with. Yet the Lindsay is able to present the final movement as the exemplar of conventional sonata form that it is. If you will have only one version of the 14th quartet, this is the one to get, and if you want to expand your understanding of this remarkable piece of music, your collection will not be complete without this one."