Search - Borodin, Smetana, Takacs Quartet :: String Quartet 2 / String Quartet 1

This disc has some wonderful compositions to recommend it, but not much else. The Takács Quartet plays both of these emotionally outgoing romantic pieces with more caution than fervor, sinking them as listening experiences. They are recorded in an overresonant acoustic, which probably removes some of the rhythmic emphasis from the playing, although there obviously wasn't enough in the first place. Under the circumstances it would be churlish to complain that there was plenty of room on this 52-minute disc for another piece of music. The Borodin Quartet is much better played by the Emerson Quartet (Deutsche Grammophon 427 618-2), Smetana by the Panocha Quartet (Supraphon 11 1514-2). --Leslie Gerber