Search - Ludwig van Beethoven :: Beethoven: The Late String Quartets

A good introduction to the pinnacle of Beethoven's works

Harald Anderson | Washington, DC United States | 05/26/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Other reviewers have spoken about the importance of these works, and my review will focus on the interpretation here. Since Beethoven sits uneasily between the Classical and Romantic periods, most of his work invite the interpreter to fit him into one category or another. The final quartets, being on the more difficult side of Beethoven's works, are no exception. Critics alternatively see the works as quintessentially romantic, almost Baroque in detail, or even verging on atonal.



In 1960s Europe, Beethoven was seen as a Romantic composer, and the interpretations here are firmly in that tradition. (On the Fürtwangler-Toscanini spectrum of Beethoven interpretation (freedom of interpretation vs. cold adherence to the score), it's more on the Fürtwangler side.) The quartet brings out the beauty and lyric nature of the passages, with soloists flowing into and out of orchestra almost as if the pieces were Brandenburg Concerti. It results in a beautiful rendition, and one that will not challenge the ears or patience of most audiences.



Personally, I'm not a huge fan of this line of interpretation and am not altogether sure it's justified in the score. But for the audience who knows Beethoven mostly through the Symphonies or the six favorite piano sonatas, this is an excellent introduction to what many biographers and critics see as Beethoven's finest compositions. Since the performance is technically superb and the group works very well together with a unified interpretation, it will also serve the listeners well as a point of reference when they begin to search for the interpretation that suits them.



I originally knew these recordings from their LP format, and the transfer is done remarkably well, more than most recordings of the period. I never felt like I was listening to a post-analog CD. The remastering was done quite well, and I suppose one tribute to the prowess of the Quartetto italiano is that the master tapes were preserved so well."