Search - Beethoven, Yale Quartet :: Late String Quartets

Reference recordings

David J. Schneider | Houston, TX USA | 07/14/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Back in the late 1960s when I was beginning my LP collection these were the first string quartet recordings I bought, and they gave me great pleasure. In fact I wore out the LPs especially the one containing the OP 131. Since that time I have bought more than a dozen recordings of this group of quartets, and they remain my favorite music. I suppose if I had to pick a favorite set, it would be the Busch Quartet with the Vegh as a modern standard. Having relegaded my LPs to storage, I picked up this set on CD and was somewhat surprised that they stack up very well. The Yale group does nothing fancy -- a bit slow in places, a bit fast in others, but mostly very traditional with perfect intonation and ensemble. Based purely on memory and what I now listen to I would certainly rate them above the Emerson, Berg, Cleveland, and Italiano (although I have a soft spot for the latter). Of older sets I also like the Hollywood and some parts of the older Budapest. Others, of course might have different orderings, but I don't think anyone would deny that this is a classic set. You might do a little better but you could do a lot worse. A fine set of recordings from a largely forgotten group."