Search - Ludwig van Beethoven :: The Busch Quartet Play Beethoven, Vol. 1

Brilliant remastering by Michael Dutton

J. Grant | North Carolina, USA | 04/13/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This disc containing Opp. 18/1, 95 and 135 sounds as fresh and clean as you could possibly wish for from recordings made in the 30's. Gone is all of the aggravating surface noise you get with labels like Pearl. What you are left with is the music, the whole music, and nothing but the music. Michael Dutton is a genius. The performances themselves are, of course, stellar."

Vivid

David Saemann | 09/19/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The sound engineering on this CD is variable. Quartets 1 and 16 were recorded in 1933, and sound almost as good as a modern recording. No. 11 was recorded a year earlier, and there the sound is somewhat muffled, but still enjoyable. Surface noise from the 78s is at a minimum throughout. As performances, these may be the best ever. No. 1 receives a reading full of classical poise and elegance. There is no underestimating how beautiful the Busch Quartet sounds. No. 11 features much contrast of light and shade. As for Beethoven's last quartet, it receives a deeply spiritual performance. The slow movement is almost effortlessly soulful and poised, while the last, Muss es Sein, movement proceeds at a tempo that just sounds perfect. This is quartet playing of rare distinction."