Continuing my discographies, this is a survey of - hopefully - every extant recorded cycle of Beethoven's String Quartets. As of September 2017, it includes 63 different cycles (one incomplete, one that may not be finished, and another soon to be finished) spanning 70 decades of recording history. I am sitting on the data for several new discographic entries under work. Ring cycles, Mahler, Nielsen, Martinů and Beethoven symphony-cycles, as well as Bartók and Shostakovich string quartet-cycles. They just take an awful lot of time to research and then put into html-presentable shape and even then they are rarely complete or mistake free. Neither will this one be, and every such post is also a plea to generously inclined readers with more information and knowledge of the subject than I have to lend a helping hand correcting my mistakes or filling data-lacunae. I am explicitly grateful for any such pointers, hinters, and corrections and apologize for any bloomers. Unlike some earlier discographies, this one does intend to be comprehensive. So I am especially grateful if I have sets that I have missed are pointed out to me. I have not listened to them all, of course, but about 20. Favorites are indicated with the "ionarts choice" graphic. With nearly 2000 links in this document, there are, despite my best efforts, bound to be some that are broken or misplaced; I am glad about every correction that comes my way.
Edit 12/01/23: The latest update brings the survey actually up to date? The Dover Quartet's cycle on Cedille saw its final installment published. Quite some scrolling, until you get there, as this is the 81st cycle added.
Edit 08/12/22: Thanks to @PaulgThomas84's prompting, the Elias String Quartet cycle, which had been concluded, is now listed in full and in the right chronological position.
Edit 07/12/22: A special moment for these "Cycle Surveys:" I have added (belatedly) the Melodiya cycle of the Beethoven String Quartet's recording. This first release on CD was the direct result of research for this survey and my asking the good people at Melodiya about the recordings... to which they answered: "We found the recordings in the archive which you writing about. At the next editors meeting will discuss the possibility to release box-set with Complete Beethoven quartets in the performance of the Beethoven Quartet including digital release." Well, here it is (and today I received it in the mail, which was the kick in the pants I needed for an update)! Of course it remains the most difficult set to search for on the internet, right along with the Shostakovich Quartet's Shostakovich quartets, the Shostakovich Quartet's Beethoven quartets and the Beethoven Quartet's Shostakovich quartets. But I've done that part for you below. :-)
New cycles added: The Quatuor Ébène's around-the-world cycle (with echoes of Kubelik's such cycle of the Symphonies), the Miró Quartet's, the Kuss Quartet's, Quatuor Stanislas, and the Cuarteto Casals'.
New re-issues of cycles of the Lindsay, Alban Berg, Juilliard I, Pascal, and Smetana quartets.
Edit 03/03/19: Deutsche Grammophon has luxuriously re-issued the Amadeus Quartet's classic cycle on CD/Blu-ray. Comments below.
Edit 28/05/18: Thanks to Barry Lyons for pointing out that the Wihan Quartet (Wihanovo kvarteto) has in fact recorded a first cycle. Solidly oop but added below.
Edit 20/05/18: The Budapest 1951/52 cycle has been re-issued on Sony and the Cremona Quartet cycle will be boxed for the first time. Both have been added below.
Edit 20/01/18: The Wihan Quartet cycle on Nimbus Alliance, hitherto overlooked (thanks to Mark Wilson who alerteshd me to that fact in the comments!), has been added. It brings this list to 66 (68, if you count the kind-of-cycles of the Peterson and Hagen Quartets) to cycles.
Edit/News 10/07/17: Melodiya has, after being contacted by ionarts, found the tapes for the Beethoven String Quartet's Beethoven String Quartet cycle (try searching for that one on Amazon or Google!) in their archives and is considering giving it a first-ever digital release. More news here if and as they develop.
Edit 09/29/17: Many thanks to "Bill" who alerted me to the Cleveland Quartet's first cycle on RCA, which has now been added. I am also trying to find more information on other alleged cycles, including a stereo cycle of the Russian Beethoven Quartet (app. recorded between 1969 and 1972 for Melodiya). The cycle by the German Schäffer Quartett (Le Club Francais du Disque/Muridire; early stereo), re-issued by ForgottenRecords, will be added shortly.
Edit 09/20/17: I am adding links to MusicWeb-Intl. reviews of complete cycles for further reading, wherever they have a well-written review up.
Edit 09/18/17: Already the first corrections come in: It's been pointed out to me that I have missed the Romanian "Cvartetul de Coarde Voces" and their 1998 cycle on Electrecord. Will be added tomorrow. And the Brilliant re-issue of the Guarneri cycle is not the RCA cycle, but the Philips/Decca one, after all.
Léner Quartet
(1926 – 1936)
Jenö Léner, Joszef Smilovitz, Sándor Roth, Imre Hartmann
The first recorded LvB SQ4t Cycle. OOP, though it had once been released in Japan on EMI/Toshiba's "The Great Artists of Angel 2" series. Mono. (I could not find any Amazon links for any of these releases.)
Josef Roisman, Alexander Schneider/Edgar Ortenberg/Jac Gorodetzky, István Ipolyi/Boris Kroyt, Mischa Schneider
This is technically the first cycle of the Budapest Quartet. It contains recordings with the last remaining Hungarian member, István Ipolyi. It is missing two movements from op.18/5 to be truly complete and was only partially re-issued on Columbia Masterwork Heritage. Mono.
Joseph Roisman, Jac Gorodetzky, Boris Kroyt, Mischa Schneider
This is the first of the two famous Budapest String Quartet Cycle. Mono. I am not aware of another issue than that of United Archives, which is excellent in every way, including the remastered sound. Edit 5.20.18: Sony's claim is to have "reissued [this 1951-52 cycle] as a complete set - for the first time in its entirety on CD, and newly remastered from the original tapes" with their 2018 re-release, replicating the original LP sequencing, cover art and labels. Jed Distler reviews the set on ClassicsToday here.
Jacques Dumont, Maurice Crut, Leon Pascal, Robert Salles
The Pascal Quartet's cycle was initially issued on 13 Nixa LPs and also included the arrangement for string quartet of the op.2/3 piano sonata. It also made an appearance on Concert Hall Society LPs. MusicWeb review by Jonathan Woolf.
Zoltán Székely, Alexandre Moskowsky, Denes Koromzay, Vilmos Palotai
Unlike the Budapest Quartet, the Hungarians were actually mostly Hungarians - founded by Sándor Végh (who was no longer a member by the time these recordings were made, as he left in 1940 to found the Végh Quartet; his replacement, Moszkowsky, was Russian). This is their first, probably more famous cycle, recorded in Paris. Mono.
Walter Barylli, Otto Strasser, Rudolf Streng, Richard Krotschak
This is the cycle that the Viennese Barylli Quartet (founded by Walter Barylli, concertmaster of the Vienna Philharmonic) recorded for Westminster. Mono. Their cycle has been brought out on CD by Tower Japan. It is also included in this much less attractive catch-all box from Scribendum.
Kurt Schäffer, Franzjosef Maier, Franz Bezer, Kurt Herzbruch
This cycle by the Schäffer-Quartett (or "Quatuor Schaeffer") was issued by the short-lived Le Club Français Du Disque, which existed from 1953 until 1968. Forgotten Records has digitally remastered the recordings from LPs. It seems to be two quartets shy of a complete cycle (either in the original or the re-issue), namely opp.18/2 & 3. Note: It is complete. Update: In Japan, a catch-all set has been released on an "Ars Nova" label that includes all the Beethoven.
Ludwig van Beethoven
String Quartets
Le Club Français Du Disque
Budapest String Quartet II
(1958-1961)
Joseph Roisman, Alexander Schneider, Boris Kroyt, Mischa Schneider
The second of the two famous Budapest String Quartet cycles, which was supposed to supplant the earlier - not the least because it was in stereo! - the first such on the market.
Norbert Brainin, Siegmund Nissel, Peter Schidlof, Martin Lovett
This is the first cycle of the Amadeus Auartet, recorded for the Berlin RIAS radio station and beautifully restored and released on Audite. It includes the op.29 Quintet but lacks op.74; op.127 is taken from a non-RIAS broadcast in 1967. Mono.
Norbert Brainin, Siegmund Nissel, Peter Schidlof, Martin Lovett
The classic Amadeus Quartet cycle on DG; long the dominant name in the UK not the least thanks to the unique position of the Amadeus Quartet in post-War London. It has now (2019) been lavishly re-issued as a set of 7 CDs and a pure audio Blu-ray with the original cover art in mini-LP sleeves inside a box. Although the CDs seem not to have undergone remastering, I was very pleasantly surprised even by their sound quality. I noticed little to nothing of the harshness that I had hitherto heard attributed to the previous CD releases. As for the Blu-ray transfer (which I have yet to listen to), the engineer had the following to say: "We have used the digital high-res transfers from the original tapes [for the Blu-ray mastering]. Our goal was to keep the spirit and the character of the original recordings. We have been cleaning up and retouching the files to make the whole user experience [a bit smoother], but always stayed close to the original recording and kept the original dynamics, as with Blu-ray there is a much bigger dynamic range (24 Bit) compared to CD (16 Bit)."
Zoltán Székely, Mihaly Kuttner, Denes Koromzay, Gabor Magyar
This is the stereo re-make of the Hungarians' Beethoven cycle, but somehow it has been neglected on CD, appearing only on French EMI with any regularity. It is currently OOP.
Josef Vlach, Václav Snítil, Josef Koďousek, Viktor Moučka
The Vlach Quartet recorded a famous op.131 and op.18 for Supraphon, but not a complete cycle, apparently. This seems to be a live cycle made up of altogether different recordings, taken from radio broadcasts, although I have seen it claimed a studio cycle as well. (Op.130 is taken by the Janáček String Quartet.) Mono/Stereo.
Arnold Steinhardt, John Dalley, Michael Tree, David Soyer
This is the first of the Guarneri's two LvB String Quartet cycles and the one that has gotten more play on CD. All the same, it is currently OOP and most easily acquired in the three RCA boxes. Update: It has been re-issued in 2019 and remastered, too.
Robert Mann, Isidore Cohen/Earl Carlyss, Raphael Hillyer/Samuel Rhodes, Claus Adam
There was an earlier attempt at recording a Beethoven Cycle with the Juilliard Quartet between 1959 and 1963, but perhaps not a very concertated effort. In any case, the ensemble (consisting of Robert Mann, Isidore Cohen, Raphael Hillyer, Claus Adam) only put down 5 quartets for RCA, which were never released on CD, as far as I know. This is then their first cycle, it hasn't been consistently in print, but (strangely?) it is the only one that was ever issued as a single box set. Update: Sony has remastered and re-issued this set in 2019 (thanks Mark!). It's a ClassicsToday/Dave Hurwitz Top5 Choice. Jed Distler's review here.
Jiří Novák, Lubomír Kostecký, Milan Škampa, Antonín Kohout
This was the first attempt of the Smetana Quartet at a Beethoven cycle. They got close, but are missing op.18/2-6, op.59/1/2, and op.74. It was issued on Supraphon and the late quartets have been re-issued on a Supraphon 3-disc set which, lacking anything more encompassing, I have included it here... The late quartets have also been re-issued on single discs in Japan, but I haven't found the missing opp.18/1 & Razumovskys on CD anywhere.
Wilhelm Melcher, Gerhard Voss, Hermann Voss, Peter Buck
This was a hard set to learn about, much less attain any detail about it... In passing, Tully Potter notes "very dry playing", but - going easy on differentiation or nuance - suggests this is equally true of both their sets. Some or all of these recordings seem to have been re-issued on a series titled "Classical Creations"... I could only find such releases for the early string quartets, which include the SQ4t version of op.14/1.
Dmitri Tsyganov, Nikolai Zabavnikov, Fyodor Druzhinin, Sergei Shirinsky
This cycle’s existence on CD makes me very happy, because it is the direct result of putting together this survey! In my research for available albums, I had come across various recordings of the “Beethoven Quartet” (which is super-tough to google, much like the Shostakovich Quartet’s Shostakovich quartets), some from the 40s and several from the years 1969 and onward. I contacted Melodiya about it, they said they'd look in their archives... did, found them, and said they'd discuss issuing the set. And here it is! Glorious old-world Beethoven. Melodiya's producs are currently difficult to attain, due to restrictions to do with the war against Ukraine - but hopefully we will live in better times again, where Russian Beethoven can be disseminated freely again.
Peter Komlós, Sándor Devich, Géza Németh, Károly Botvay
An easily overlooked cycle with which I am not familiar; Tully Potter credits it with "exceptionally intense" playing. It seems OOP these days, but it can be downloaded (see below) and can be found in the Naxos Music Library.
Alexander Tomov, Dimo Dimov, Dimiter Chilikov, and Dimiter Kozev
Thanks to Ghislain for pointing out the existence of the Bulgare Quartet's LvB-Integrale. Recorded for Балкантон (Bulgaroton)at the same time when the Bartok and Beethoven Quartets recorded for Hungaroton and Melodiya, these were licensed by Harmonia Mundi and issued in 1977 where the memberss names were spelled Alexandre Thomov, Dimo Dimov, Dimitre Tchilikov, Dimitre Kosev. The licensning might also have brought about the name change to "Quatuor Bulgare" when they seem to have been known as the Dimov Quartet, otherwise. (Incidentally, they were the 1965 1. Prize winners at the ARD Music Competition.) The cycle never seems to have made it into the digital age.
Végh Quartet II
(1972-1974)
Sándor Végh, Sándor Zöldy, Georges Janzer, Paul Szabo
This set is still my reference for musicality and passion and Beethovenian ember... especially in the Razumovsky quartets. I love it, perhaps beyond purely rational, objective reasons.
Paolo Borciani, Elisa Pegreffi, Piero Farulli, Franco Rossi
At least in Europe, this was one of the great, popular Beethoven String Quartet cycles to come along in the modern era... successors in fame, perhaps, to the Amadeus' cycle. It's always been around on CD in some form or another and Pentatone even re-issued the Razumovsky quartets on SACD to give listeners with the corresponding set-up the possibility to enjoy them in Philip's pioneering if largely ignored quadrophonic sound. The Quartetto Italiano are perhaps the premiere beauticians among Beethoven-playing quartets; their tone is sweet and gorgeous and fairly untroubled. This is their great strength to some - and weakness to others. I don't like cross-composer box sets much, but for those not hampered by such considerations, there is a 37-CD catch-all set with all their recordings on Decca, Philips & DG, which includes their complete Beethoven, naturally, and a disc of 1949/52 recordings of Razumovsky 1 & 3. It's a ClassicsToday/DaveHurwitz Top5 Cycle. Insider review here.
Donald Weilerstein, Peter Salaff,Martha Strongin Katz, Paul Katz
The Cleveland Quartet's first cycle, on RCA, never made it into the digital age for one reason or another. Here's a review from the NYT previewing the recording(s). Neatly, the Cleveland Quartet's historical website allows you to stream all their out of print recordings.
Karl Suske, Klaus Peters, Karl-Heinz Dommus, Matthias Pfaender
The GDR cycle, recorded for VEB Schallplatten/Eterna, re-issued on CD by Edel and re-re-issued on Brilliant. Well worth exploring, from what I hear... and on my list of recordings to be sought out.
Aeolian Quartet: Emanuel Hurwitz, Raymond Keenlyside, Margaret Major, Derek Simpson
Gabrieli Quartet: Brendan O'Reilly, Kenneth Sillito, Ian Jewel, Keith Harvey
The Aeolian Quartet takes on the late quartets (which it had originally recorded for Argo) and the Gabrieli String Quartet the other opera. Recording was done at Kingsway Hall, London; St Barnabas Church, London; Rosslyn Hill Chapel; St John's, Smith Square. Possibly other places as well. For this having once been the go-to (and only) Decca set (certainly part of that particular series of boxed sets), awfully little information is out there. Decca eventually released the supreme Takács set, but that wasn't until 2001, twelve years after the Philips/Decca merger. More information about this set would be appreciated. (I'm best contacted via Twitter.)
Petr Messiereur, Jan Kvapil, Jan Talich Sr., Evzen Rattay
Among the internationally most consistently highly regarded cycles, in the line of Végh II but in modern analog sonics. Supremely gorgeous re-issue from La Dolce Volta sweetens the deal further!
Robert Mann, Earl Carlyss, Samuel Rhodes, Joel Krosnick
The Juilliard Quartet's Beethoven at the Library of Congress was something even I still got to enjoy, although not, of course, at the time these recordings were made in 1982, nor with that lineup. The resulting live recordings were never issued as a complete set but were, at least in their time and in the US, considered top-notch stuff. It seems currently OOP.
Günter Pichler, Gerhard Schulz, Hatto Beyerle (1-11) Thomas Kakuska (12-16, GrFg), Valentin Erben
When this set came out, it set a new standard for excellence -- in particular technical excellence. There simply had not been as precisely played a Beethoven cycle before that. The four perfectionists of the Alban Berg Quartet, who built their fame seat-by-seat, starting with a cycle of performances at the small Schubert Hall of the Vienna Konzerthaus and then gradually growing this into a world-wide following, delivered something that remains an easily competitive - if contentuous - top choice, today. Some say it's never been surpassed and that they set entirely new standards to which ensembles like the Emerson Quartet would later aspire to. I have managed to be swayed by the more negative viewpoint for far too long and am going to try them out myself at long overdue last... especially given how much of a dog's breakfast even contemporary string quartets manage to make out of some of the trickier passages in the late quartets, I could well possibly use a dose of perfection... whatever exactly "perfection" was in those years.
Peter Cropper, Ronald Birks, Roger Bigley, Bernard Gregor-Smith
The Lindsay String Quartet - not then "The Lindsays" - recorded this, their first, Beethoven cycle to hyperbolic acclaim in the UK and to derision elsewhere. "So much heart!" claimed the former; "But so rarely with the correct intontation!" objected the others. Much the same with their late Schubert, which I haven't listened to in a long time but which I remember loving very dearly. Their Beethoven, alas, I have not heard. It came out on ASV. In the US it was also issued as a set by the Musical Heritage Society and later by that - to me - mysterious Sanctuary Resonance label/series that did a few Lindsays boxes and nothing else that I noticed... and then disappeared again. Now, in 2020, Decca Eloquence from down under have resuscitated the cycle and it is available once more.
Wilhelm Melcher, Gerhard Voss, Hermann Voss, Peter Buck
I know nothing about this set, really, but a factoid: The LPs of it, which were issued alongside the CD and Cassette releases, had the CD booklet rather than its own, proper-sized one. Andrew L. Pincus wrote about this set in the New York Times: "Two recent boxes of recordings provide explorations not just of Beethoven's familiar music but also of the personalities of two European ensembles, the Melos and Lindsay string quartets. By the end of the road, the Melos comes to seem like an expensively tailored companion, elegant from his cologne and silver cuff links down to his polished shoes. The Lindsay behaves more like a rumpled, slightly eccentric professor, probably in baggy tweeds and with a pipe stuck in his mouth."
Jiří Novák, Lubomír Kostecký, Milan Škampa, Antonín Kohout
This is the complete cycle of the Smetana Quartet, available through Denon (Columbia Japan)... and now, as of 2020, also from Supraphon, in digital remasters from the original tapes. A ClassicsToday/David Hurwitz Top5 Choice.
Vladimir Ovcharek, Alexander Stang, Vladimir Stopichev, Joseph Levinzon
The Taneyev recorded the Beethoven String Quartets for Melodiya; I have never seen the set on that label - perhaps a re-release is in the cards... MusicWeb review by Jonathan Woolf.
Günter Pichler, Gerhard Schulz, Thomas Kakuska, Valentin Erben
In 1989 the Alban Berg Quartett had the Beethoven cycle they performed at the Vienna Konzerthaus' Mozart Hall recorded and issued it on DVD and CD, figuring that the live atmosphere added a touch of spontaneity to their earlier recordings which, if there were criticized at all, were accused of an all-too-clinical execution. It was issued in two volumes; the late string quartets have been re-issued as a separate box.
Shmuel Ashkenasi, Pierre Menard, Richard Young (Bernhard Zaslav), Marc Johnson
Perhaps a dark horse string quartet cycle; particularly convincing, I found, from op.74 to op.127 + op. 131. Partly recorded at the famous Siemensvilla studios, like the Amadeus-RIAS cycle. Bernard Holland wrote about opp.130/133 in the NYT: "The Vermeer Quartet values warm and glowing sounds, and its moderate tempos in this performance seem calculated to minimize the opportunity for making ugly ones. Shmuel Ashkenasi, the first violinist, has a richer tone than his Fitzwilliam counterpart, Christopher Rowland, and he makes graceful phrases, enriched (for better or worse) with generous vibrato. But one must also live with Mr. Ashkenasi's drawling portamento, which in the delicate purity of the Cavatina movement seems oppressive and very much out of place. The Vermeer has the same problems with the Grosse Fuge as everyone else. It is a stubborn, gouging opponent and one which resists the most virtuosic attempts at discipline."
Arnold Steinhardt, John Dalley, Michael Tree, David Soyer
The second cycle of the Guarneri Quartet - for Philips. This is the set Brilliant re-issued. To quote from James Leonard's AllMusic review: "The earlier set was recorded at the height of the group's youthful fame, and the performances burn with passionate strength and sensuous energy. The later set, reissued here by Brilliant, was recorded at the first flush of the digital era, and the performances glow with musical wisdom and emotional maturity. Some listeners might prefer the earlier set's driven tempos and hard-edged ensemble; others might incline toward the later set's judicious tempos and smooth-cornered ensemble." These recordings are also in some (?) of the Brilliant Complete Beethoven
Peter Oundjian, Kikeui Ikeda, Kazuhide Isomura, Sadao Harada
The ARD Intl. Music Competition Winners, the Tokyo String Quartet - at this point Peter Oundjian having replaced Koichiro Harada and Kikeui Ikeda Yoshiko Nakura at first and second violin, respectively, enter the market with their neat and controlled cycle for RCA. My first one, thanks to the BMG Music Club.
Wiener Musikverein Quartett (Küchl Quartet)
(1990-1992)
Rainer Küchl, Peter Wächter, Peter Götzel, Franz Bartolomey
Outside of Europe, the Vienna-based Küchl Quartet goes by the name of "Wiener Musikverein Quartett" to cash in on the great reputation of the Musikverein/Vienna Philharmonic abroad... especially in Japan, where the attitude towards those musical institutions is on the venerating and uncritical side. Needless to say, the quartet is big in Japan. (In Vienna they are considered 'good enough' for the Musikverein's middling chamber music series but could never light a candle to the Alban Berg Quartet which performed their series over at the Konzerthaus - or their successors in that series, the Belcea and Artemis Quartets.) The Küchl's Beethoven cycle, which was never properly available outside of Japan, came out on "Platz" and has even been re-issued by the tireless people of Tower Japan.
William Preucil, Peter Salaff, James Dunham, Paul Katz
The box set is OOP, but the individual releases [see extra link below] are still in print. I seem to remember that this set had some legs in the US - but it cannot have helped sales for the Emerson Quartet's to have come out the same year.
Zakarias Grafilo, Fred Lifsitz, Paul Yarbrough, Sandy Wilson
From the Bay Area comes the quartet of well-repuded budget-priced set (when it was in print, at least). But it never took off anywhere nearly as much (or set such standards) as Arte Nova's set of Beethoven Symphonies with Zinman.
Bujor Prelipcean, Anton Diaconu, Constantin Stanciu, Dan Prelipcean
Romanian contribution; recorded at the Toscanasaal-Residenz, in Würzburg. Admittedly, I'd never heard of the quartet before - except that they recorded a very fine disc of Arriaga's String Quartets for MDG, as the Voces String Quartet. I just didn't make the association. The set can be purchased from HMV Japan, it seems. I have not found it anywhere else. (Thanks to Todd for pointing out this omission from the initial list!)
Václav Remeš, Vlastimil Holek, Josef Klusoň, Michal Kaňka
The first cycle to appear on SACDs. I have long coveted (but never actually acquired) it, not the least because I much enjoyed the Pražák Quartet's performances at the Corcoran Gallery, back in the mid-oughts. Seeing that their recordings are generally top-notch and that this set has plenty advocates ("10/10" ClassicsToday among them), I intend to remedy this omissions before I die.
Ulrike Petersen/Conrad Muck, Daniel Bell/Gernot Süßmuth, Friedemann Weigle, Hans-Jakob Eschenburg/Jonas
The Petersen Quartet never managed to complete a whole Beethoven cycle before they disbanded. But they are a significant and a very good string quartet and they did manage to put down all but three of the quartets to make it the whole 16, and those are very good. They have recorded opp.18/1-4 + 6, 59/2, 95, 127, 130-33 and 135; all but one of those discs having appeared on Capriccio: [op.18/1 & op.131, 1995, Capriccio] [op.18/2,6 & op.127, 2001, Capriccio] [op.18/3 & op.135, 2002, Capriccio] [op.18/4 & op.132, 1996, Capriccio] [op.59/2 & op.95, 1989, Edel] [op.135opp.130 & 133, 2000, Capriccio]
Frank-Michael Erben, Conrad Suske, Anton Jivaev, Jürnjakob Timm
Another dark horse cycle; winner of the 2004 Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik (that's the meaningful German classical music prize, not the Echo!), and a wonderful recording. Hampered for years by being stuck in one of NCA's stupid "book" boxes, that fit no proper CD shelf (their attempt of breaking into the book market, which never worked out)... but has since been re-packaged into something appropriately sized. Includes Beethoven's own transcription of his op. 14, no. 1, E major piano sonata for string quartet. See also:
Dip Your Ears, No. 21 (Op.14 for String Quartet)
Peter Cropper, Ronald Birks, Robin Ireland, Bernard Gregor-Smith
The Lindsays (now so re-named) decided that they needed to re-do their cycle for ASV again. It hasn't been boxed, as far as I know. It did not seem to get much traction; ASV was bought by Sanctuary Records and then Sanctuary was bought and shut down by Universal, it appears. In the US the Lindsays were maligned for allegedly bad intonation, but its fans loved them for expressiveness.
Leoš Cepický, Jan Schulmeister, Jirí Žigmund, Aleš Kasprík
The Czech Wihan Quartet (Wihanovo kvarteto) recorded their first take on the Beethoven String Quartets over a decade for the Lotos label. (From a few samples, the acoustic is rather cavernous.)
Matthias Lingenfelder, Jens Oppermann, Stewart Eaton, Andreas Arndt
The only cycle available on DVD-Audio (but also on CD) from the audiophile Tacet label. I love the Auryn's Haydn (beautifully played, wilfully old-fashioned, relatively speaking); I am therefore intrigued about their Beethoven.
Edward Dusinberre, Károly Schranz, Roger Tapping, András Fejér
This cycle came at a time in the record industry, where the quartet had to finance the recordings and Decca deigned to publish it. It only turned out to be one of the proudest items in their catalogue and finally, late, it has been given some love in the form of issue as a deluxe boxset including a High-Fidelity Pure Audio Blu-ray cut of the recordings and a bonus DVD. The Takács Quartet has been formative in my appreciation of chamber music—Bartók and Beethoven string quartets in particular and their set, even trying to eliminate positive bias, is my absolute go-to set. It's also one of ClassicsToday/Dave Hurwitz's Top5 Cycles. ClassicsToday Insider review (mine, in this case), here.
Aruben Aharonia, Andrei Abramenkov, Igor Naidin, Valentin Berlinsky
Late, very late in their collective career, the Borodin Quartet took Beethoven to the recording studios for Chandos. I adore the ensemble in their earlier recordings of Shostakovich [Shostakovich String Quartet Cycle Survey forthcoming!], but having regularly heard them in concert around that time, I was never particularly interested in this cycle and have, in fact, not heard it.
Andreas Seidel, Tilman Büning, Ivo Bauer, Matthias Moosdorf
This is a very fine cycle from the Leipzig String Quartet (not to be mistaken for the Leipzig Gewandhaus Quartet) which has recorded so much for the Musikproduktion Dabringhaus & Grimm (MDG) label. The cycle had the Quintets added in 2011 and was finally put into a box last year. Solid across the board (unlike so many other cycles that peak in the op.18 and maybe the middle quartets but then can't keep it up for the late quartets), it is sublte in its interpretative aspects, but that's not to say bland. It will never enervate. And it benefits from an excellent stereo system, where the transparency of the recording comes through best. My ClassicsToday-Insider review can be found here: Level-Headed Beethoven From Leipzig. It's also a ClassicsToday/Dave Hurwitz Top5 Choice.
Zakarias Grafilo, Fred Lifsitz, Paul Yarbrough, Sandy Wilson
The Alexander String Quartet's second cycle is essentially a fancy promotional issue on behalf of their instrument builder. Not that there is anything wrong with that. Especially with results like these: their op.18 is absolutely terrific; among the better - indeed best - I have heard. I find that the other quartets, however, do not match that elated status... something that is true for a lot of cycles, except that most don't start out that strong, making it less obvious in those cases.
Julie Rosenfeld, Deborah Lydia Redding, Marka Gustavsson, Katie Schlaikjer
These recordings were made in the Sosnoff Theater of the Richard B Fischer Center at Bard College... and the quartet, founded in 1982 and Winners of the 1983 Naumburg Award and the First Banff International String Quartet Competition, seems to have been disbanded a few years ago. The recordings announce on the cover being "complete performances with all marked repeats".
Andrew Watkinson, Ralph de Souza, Garfield Jackson, David Waterman
This set markets itself as the absolutely, entirely complete set, with every bit and scrap that Beethoven wrote for String Quartet included - and using the new Jonathan Del Mar prepared edition of the quartets. The pieces not usually included but included in this set are: op.18/1 in its first version. Allegretto in B minor, Prelude & Fugues H30 & H31, Minuet H33, Prelude fragment in D minor, the op.14/1 adaptation, the two String Quintets opp.4 & 29, Prelude & Fugue for Quintet fragment H40, Fugue for string quintet op.137.
Todd Philips, Daniel Phillips, Steven Tenenbom, Timothy Eddy
The Orion Quartet is in its 30th year. The Quartet is active commissioning quartets from composers which incl. Chick Corea, Brett Dean, David Del Tredici, Alexander Goehr, Thierry Lancino, John Harbison, Leon Kirchner, Marc Neikrug, Lowell Liebermann, Peter Lieberson and Wynton Marsalis.
Leoš Cepický, Jan Schulmeister, Jirí Žigmund, Aleš Kasprík
Here is the Wihan Quartet's second contribution to LvB@4. This time the recordings are live, brought out by Nimbus Alliance, the sublabel of Nimbus for recordings that are not their own. They have a base in London, where they perform regularly. Reviews have been tepid, such as Andrew Clements' in the Guardian or those from MusicWeb Intl: Early Quartets and Middle Quartets / Brian Wilson (who is being nice about it), and Late Quartets / Patrick Waller. The cycle includes the string quartet version of op.14/1 (on the disc with the Middle quartets).
Martin Beaver, Kikuei Ikeda, Kazuhide Isomura, Clive Greensmith
Long before the Corcoran Gallery closed, it folded up its instrument collection. A superb Steinway B (?) went, as did the "Paganini" collection of Stradivarius instruments, a string quartet set matching the only other such set across the Mall, at the Library of Congress. They were sold to the Nippon Foundation, which specializes in collecting and loaning Stradivarius instruments, who then handed them to the Tokyo String Quartet. That breathed a bit of new life into the last years of the quartet and they recorded the Beethoven string quartets one more time, for Harmonia Mundi, on SACDs... and this time with Martin Beaver on first violin, having replaced Mikhail Kopelman in 2006. The early quartets are given in very sophisticated readings, but the late ones - as so often - are not as clean and clearly deliniated as I should like them to be. For a while I thought that these had been live recordings, because of that... but they aren't. MusicWeb Review by Stephen Greenbank.
To me, this cycle rings in the age of the 'new' string quartet ensembles issuing cycles of their own, although the cut-off is probably mostly in my mind and the transition in fact more gradual. Still, the Artemis Quartet (which tragically lost Friedemann Weigle - also the violist for most of the Petersen Quartet recordings - to depression in 2015; see John von Rhein's excellent article on how the quartet has moved on), students of the Alban Berg Quartet, represent that generation of string quartets that has dazzled chamber music recital goers over the last decade with a standard of excellence which they have pushed to an exalted level across the board; the kind of excellence that may have been only an occasional occurance some thirty, twenty years ago. Not all of these quartets have yet handed in a recorded Beethoven cycle, of course (the Jupiter String Quartet, Quatuor Ébène, the Jerusalem, Pacifica, Heath ("Heaves & Pomerray"), Acies, Afiara, Verus Quartets, the EnAccord String Quartet, the Quartet Berlin-Tokyo etc. et al. haven't, though some have played the complete cycle in concerts), nor is it necessary that they do, especially when there is so much more repertoire in such greater need of excellent recordings. But those that have appeared are all quite special and technically at a level that exceeds all but the most stellar exemplars of the previous 75 years since the Léner Quartet's cycle hit the market. When this cycle was initially released on single discs, op.74 was never included, leaving early-adapters with the choice of skipping that quartet or adding the whole set to their extant collection... probably a planning mistake rather than deliberate (and short-sighted) strategy, but it made for some hard feelings and bitter thoughts among collectors.
Laura Andriani, Nathalie Camus, Luc Beauchemin, Davis Ellis
Canada's latest contribution. The quartet has since been re-named to "Quatuor Saguenay", presumably because the Canadian mining company and aluminium manufacturer Alcan eventually stopped funding the quartet, after having been folded into Rio Tinto of Australia. (Perhaps because the latter are rooting for the Goldner Quartet?). I am not very fond of what the Alcans/Saguenays do in op.127, but opp.132 and 135 are very fine.
Corina Belcea, Axel Schacher, Krzysztof Chorzelski, Antoine Lederlin
Another quartet (along w/the Artemis above) that studied with the Alban Berg Quartet - and they have since (along with the Artemis Quartet) taken on what used to be the ABQ's string quartet subsription cycle at Vienna's Konzerthaus. Also like the ABQ, they, too, had a live cycle from the Konzerthaus recorded... from about the same time as the studio set but not the same recordings. The detail and technical proficiency displayed in this cycle are superb. The cycle was first released on Zig Zag, then shortly thereafter re-released when Zig Zag was folded into Alpha, the new primary sub-label of Outhere music. MusicWeb Review by Stephen Greenbank.
Corina Belcea, Axel Schacher, Krzysztof Chorzelski, Antoine Lederlin
The Belcea's live LvB SQ4t cycle from the Vienna Konzerthaus on DVD/Blu-ray - which is not the same as the studio cycle on Zig-Zag/Alpha (see above). OOP already, it appears.
Lukas Hagen, Rainer Schmidt, Veronika Hagen, Clemens Hagen
Had the record market continued to function in the oughts even remotely as well as it had in the decades before, the Hagen Quartett should by all rights have completed their Beethoven Cycle on DG. As it was, the label lost interest and the Hagen Quartet's association with the Yellow Lable ceased seven quartets short of the full 17 (= including the Grosse Fuge). In truth, the Hagen Quartet's once fabled über-precision started to fade, too, with first violinist Lukas Hagen—although most admirably a perfectly equal member without primarius-illusions of grandeur—experiencing a decline in accuracy and poise. Still, it would be great to see a complete cycle from this quartet and it may possibly happen. The young Myrios label picked up where DG left off, and betweent he two labels (a bit like with the Petersen Quartet), the Hagens are now only four quartets (Nos. 2, 6, 9, 10) short of the complete traversal. I particularly admire their recording of opp.127/132: "It is light, modern, clean. It reminds me of minimalist architecture--lots of glass, brushed aluminum, clean and bright wood." They have recorded op.133 and op.135 twice, the latter once here, stand-alone next to Schubert's Death & the Maiden and again as the finale of op.130.
Daniel Strabrawa, Christian Stadelmann, Neithard Resa, Dietmar Schwalke/Jan Diesselhorst
The Philharmonia Quartet Berlin is a bit to the Berlin Philharmonic what the Küchel/Musikverein Quartett is to the Vienna Phil. It seems they have recorded their Beethoven cycle in secret, but then that's what happens if you record on the marketing-challenged Thorofon label. (I'm constantly surprised the label even still exists, though I do enjoy several of the more obscure offerings they have brought out.) I would have never found out about it, if not for research for this discography.
Erich Höbarth, Andrea Bischof, Anita Mitterer, Christophe Coin
The Quatuor Mosaïques has been taking its merry time recording Beethoven. This qualitatively speaking trail-blazing "HIP" ensemble put their first recordings (op.18, 5 & 6) down in 1994. This was followed by the missing Razumovsky quartets ten, eleven years later. The CD market was in turmoil and so was the naïve company and thus it took another decade for the late quartets to come out. The quality across the two decades and 12 quartets is stunningly consitent and admirable. Even if there were another historic instrument / period performance practice cycle out there (which, shockingly, there isn't), this could not detract from the splendor and trans-ideological appeal of these releases. (The early ones are sadly OOP and the late quartets in print only in Europe, it seems. Click the Amazon.de links for reasonable prices.) Perhaps we will get the middle quartets in time for the group's 40th anniversary? It would be worth waiting for. Meanwhile what we have is so good, this cycle, though incomplete as of yet, demands inclusion in this survey.
When the Late Quartets made my Forbes.com "10 Best Classical Recordings of 2017" list, it sure wasn't just nostalgia: "Hallelujah! [...The QM does] not disappoint in the least. They still have got the marriage of execution, wit, liveliness, enchanting tone, and transparency down to a pat. Not only do these performances not need to have any slack cut for being HIP, they are technically more accomplished than all but the very best conventional readings. The unforgivingly complex passages in the late quartets... are executed with the absolute precision they demand. The Quatuor Mosaïques even adds touches of playful lightness where one usually only perceives effort. That alone is reason enough to embrace these recordings.
While the astonishing transparency of the quartet allows for hearing through all the notes, the lower tuning of their instruments allows for a more relaxed timbre, with stridence at a minimum and an overtone-rich warmth governing the sound. The naturalness of the result somehow belies the fact that these are, for some of the works, the first HIP recordings of late Beethoven Quartets. Some listeners will miss the conventional finale of op. 130 that Beethoven substituted for the too-demanding “Grosse Fugue”… but the Quatuor Mosaïques goes the uncompromising path along with Beethoven… and make Ludwig’s point in doing so. Along with the Takács Quartet... these now easily rank among my favorite takes on the late quartets."
Cristiano Gualco, Paolo Andreoli, Simone Gramaglia, Giovanni Scaglione
The third cycle to appear on SACD, the Quartetto di Cremona seems to do everything they can to be at the other interpretative spectrum from the Quartetto Italiano: These are radical, smashing readings, bristling with energy. A sense of rawness is pervasive... and it almost sounds historically informed-informed (that is: not the thing itself, but aware of it), but then executed with modern helter-skelter means. They also play Lachenmann and early Haydn, apparently. Hearing their Beethoven, I readily believe that. This set will probably be boxed eventually, but for now it is out in eight individual releases. Includes the String Quintets. Edit: The box, retaining the SACD format (unlike so often, where the box set of some release-series will include only the Red-Book CD versions) will be released in June of 2018.
Sara Bitlloch, Donald Grant, Martin Saving, Marie Bitlloch
Live performances of the Elias String Quartet from Wigmore Hall between 2014 and 2017. The cycle includes two versions of op.130, one with the Grosse Fuge and one with the conventional finale. It also contains the String Quintet with Malin Broman as the guest-viola.
Laurent Causse, Gee Lee (8, 14) / Jean-Marie Baudour (7, 13) /Bertrand Menut (rest), Paul Fenton / Marie Triplet, Jean de Spengler
The French Quatuor Stanislas has dedicated itself to greatly interesting off-the-beaten-path repertoire with a discography that includes composers like Guy Ropartz, Jaques-Dalcroze, Maurice Emmanuel, Jean Cartan, Louis Thirion, and Henri Sauguet. But over the years, their Beethoven quartet performances at the Opéra National de Lorraine have been captured on tape. From these, the quartet chose select performances over the years, starting in 1994. These have been topped off with a new recording of Die Grosse Fuge in 2019 and released in the same year.
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Ludwig van Beethoven
String Quartets
Forgotten Records
Release: 2019
8 CDs
Available only directly from ForgottenRecords
Miró Quartet
(2004-2019)
Daniel Ching, William Fedkenheuer (7-16) / Sandy Yamamoto (1-6), John Largess, Joshua Gindele
A beautifully performed cycle from the Miró Quartet, done over 15 years, covering most of the quartet's existance.
Vera Martínez Mehner, Abel Tomàs Realp, violin 2, Jonathan Brown, Arnau Tomàs Realp
From the Cuarteto Casals, with the outstanding Arnau Tomàs on cello, this new, marvellously elegant cycle recorded over 4 years and released in three batches of 3 CDs each. It includes the op.14 piano sonata that Beethoven arranged for string quartet.
Jana Kuss, Oliver Wille, William Coleman, Mikayel Hakhnazaryan
Performed live, at Suntory Hall, over three weeks, using the "Paganini" quartet set of Stradivari instruments loaned by the Nippon Foundation. (The other cycle performed on these instruments is the Tokyo String Quartet's second cycle on Harmonia Mundi.) The set also includes Bruno Mantovani's "Beethoveniana" 6th String Quartet.
Pierre Colombet, Garbiel Le Magadure, Marie Chilemme, Raphaël Merlin
I love, love, love the Quatuor Ébène, whose career I have followed from their beginnings (2006, anyway). The diaphonous sound paired with full-on vigor; their intellectual refinement married with earthy pathos: Special stuff. A Beethoven cycle from them should be terrific stuff (and I heard some great and some good things about this cycle but have not heard it myself), even if this came fairly shortly after an important line-up change as the original violist Mathieu Herzog had left the band to pursue conducting. To mark the 250th anniversary of the composer's birth, they set out in 2019 to record the whole Beethoven cycle, live, in famous, great, favorite concert halls... a taxing adventure, indeed, covering 120 concerts, 21 countries, and six continents. (The recording venues included the Mozart Sall of Vienna's Konzerthaus, Philadelphia's Kimmel Center, Tokyo's Suntory Hall, the Sala São Paulo, Melbourne Recital Centre, and the Philharmonie de Paris.)
(Joel Link, Bryan Lee, Milena Pajaro-van de Stadt, Camden Shaw)
The Dover Quartet came to some wider promience when it won all prizes at the 2013 Banff Competition. They are the Ensemble-in-Residence at the Curtis Institute of Music. Their 2022 release of volume 3 with the late quartets (Art of the Fugue sperate from op.131 and, wisely, placed before the latter) concludes their Beethoven cycle on the Chicago-based Cedille label. Charles wrote a nice write-ups of volume 1 and volume 3 (CD of the Month) here on ionarts. Jed Distler wrote up vol.1 for ClassicsToday. MusicWeb chimes in here: vol.1 / vol.3. Cursory Naxos Music Library listening on my part suggests a very refined, elegant quartet, with just occasional emphatic grit. Neither emaciated nor plush (Italiano!) but certainly not getting down and dirty. The (fine!) liner notes to these sets are written by Nancy November, which I am juvenile enough to find hilarious.
Thanks for the kind words. I reckon that a lot is available at Spotify; even more at the Naxos Music Library. I thought of making a spotify playlist but then thought better of it, since it would be very difficult to navigate and not very practical. What might be better would be links to the sets on spotify, where available... but that is yet again a lot more work which I would do, or so it'd feel, only because Spotify is too lazy to properly meta-tag classical music.
Thanks for this wonderful survey--I didn't see the first Cleveland Quartet Cycle, which to my knowledge only appeared on RCA LP sets in the late 70s/early 80s. If you need it, I can provide the box numbers. I also transferred the LPs since I'm not a subscriber to any streaming service, so I don't know if they're at all available in digital format.
Thanks, Bill, for the comment. There IS an early Cleveland Quartet Cycle??? Yes, I would love to know more about it. Do you happen to have the recording dates (earliest and latest)? It never made it onto CD then, huh? Best,
jfl--I don't know the exact recording dates of the earlier Cleveland cycle, but the LP sets were first released in 1979, 1980 and 1983. And no, it appears that the first cycle was never re-released on CD.
I'm willing to share Google Docs links for my transfers of the first cycle, along with pretty much all of the RCA LPs that they did, which were also never apparently re-released on CD. I did these because my son studied under Don Weilerstein at New England Conservatory, and Mr. W hadn't heard these old recordings for decades, so we gathered secondhand copies of the disks and did the transfers, which we gave to him.
However, it appears now that the Cleveland Quartet's historical website now allows you to stream their older RCA (and also it seems some of the CBS and Telarc ones). This includes all of their earlier Beethovens. Here's the link:
Dear Bill, thanks for the link and the info. As you can see, I found some of the information and I've already included it above. In the course of this, I've discovered at least two more sets that I have missed, because they also never made it off LPs in any shape or form. Best, Jens
I think I might have found a set missing from your survey: Wihan Quartet on Nimbus. Here's a link to their set of the Middle quartets on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Middle-String-Quartets-LUDWIG-BEETHOVEN/dp/B002FAD74E/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1516227087&sr=8-3&keywords=wihan+beethoven
Hello again! It looks like we have a new release of an old classic. Unless I'm mistaken, Sony has just released the mono Budapest cycle mentioned above as Budapest 1. Here's the Amazon link: https://www.amazon.com/Budapest-String-Quartet-Complete-Beethoven/dp/B0776K6TTN/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1523589148&sr=1-1.
Have you considered including collections of only the late quartets? As you're no doubt aware, there are several notable, even legendary sets: the Busch, the Hollywood, and the Yale sets immediately come to mind. The LaSalle also recorded a set, and the Mosaïques recently released a provocative new set (although I don't think they have plans to complete a cycle by also recording the middle quartets ... but who knows?). I can't imagine a Beethoven quartet aficionado going without at least some of those collections!
Thanks for the comment - and apologies for seeing it only so late.
I have not thought of making an overview of just the late quartets... at least not so far.
But come to think of it, the Busch Quartet should have a fairly decently sized Beethoven String Quartet discography, if one collected all their recordings. Perhaps a "notable/incomplete cycle" page might be merited, sort-of as with the Beethoven Piano Sonatas.
Yes, aware of the Mosaiques; they were among my top 10 recordings of last year:
I think that they will at least try to record the middle quartets as well, actually. I briefly spoke to them about continuing the cycle on Naive on a different label (before Naive was taken over and resuscitated) and they appeared very willing.
Greetings Jens! I wanted to alert you of one additional (and quite rare) existing complete set, along with three others that are nearing completion. First, there was a "joint effort" complete set by the Aeolian Quartet (late quartets) and Gabrieli Quartet (early and middle quartets) on London back in the 90's. You can find a link to it on Amazon, although the MP3 version they link to is incorrect (it links to the earlier Hungarian set). This is actually a very good set, and rather hard to find. I lucked into it on eBay a few years back.
In addition, the Miro Quartet, Cuarteto Casals and Arianna Quartet are all nearing the completion of their sets. The Miro Quartet currently lack only Op. 127, 132 & 135; the Casals are 2/3 of the way through; and the Arianna lack the Late Quartets.
Great survey, thanks. I must say for be the Berg remains the best. they are not too slow (Cleveland, Borodin) not too fast (Emerson). With gorgeous tone but also great vigor. But, let's face it, it's the music that is out of this world.
Thanks much, Mark, for the tip on the Gabrieli/Aeolian on Decca. I found some information on it, but not all. Any chance you could read in the liner notes when these were recorded? Between 1974 and 1979 would be my estimate, based on the little information I could find. But having been, for however brief a moment, "THE" standard Decca set, that's a major omission/find on my part.
I've got some of the projects that are under way on my radar; not the Miro, though. Thanks again & all the best,
According to the liner notes, the recordings took place in 1974, 1978, 1979 and 1981. Venues were Kingsway Hall, London; St. John's, Smith Square, London; Rosslyn Hill Chapel, Hampstead; and St. Barnabas Church, London. For all that variety, the set is quite enjoyable and doesn't sound overly patchwork.
Happy 2020! The end of 2019 has brought us two new complete cycles. First is from the Miro Quartet on Pentatone: https://www.amazon.com/Complete-String-Quartets-Miro-Quartet/dp/B07VCML4VD/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1RTDP6XJ0Y2D9&keywords=miro+quartet+beethoven&qid=1577985518&sprefix=miro+quartet+beethoven%2Caps%2C202&sr=8-1
Next up is the Quatuor Stanislas on Forgotten Records: https://forgottenrecords.com/en/beethoven-integrale-des-quatuors-a-cordes-quatuor-stanislas-fr17018
And finally, Sony is reissuing the classic Juilliard cycle from the sixties: https://www.amazon.com/Beethoven-Quartets-1964-19-Juilliard-Quartet/dp/B07YMF23VL/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3TP72KWIMJVYY&keywords=beethoven+string+quartets&qid=1577985684&s=music&sprefix=beethoven+string+quartets%2Caps%2C240&sr=1-1
I have listened to the new Miro cycle and think it's great.
Great site, yeoman’s work that will not go unappreciated!
The Guarneri RCA cycle has been reissued/remastered in 24/96 as part of the Sony “Masters” series. The sound is, I believe, improved from the earlier OOP CD transfers. And the playing...perhaps only the ABQ, Italians, and Emersons can match the Guarneri for virtuosity.
Jens, the Smetana Denon cycle was just re-released in 2020 by Supraphon, in Hi Res remastered sound (24/192). What's interesting is that Supraphon's release and liner notes both agree that the 2020 remasterings were done from the original analogue tapes.
In the early days of the CD, Denon released a number of 'DDD" recordings studio recordings (Pires Mozart Sonatas, for example) that dated back to the early 1970s - well before any other label had adopted digital recording. The earliest of the performances on this new 2020 set date from 1976. My guess is that Denon recorded in both analogue and digital in those early years, hence the ADD nature of this present remastering.
To my ears, the sound of this newly remastered set is excellent, if a little on the bright side. The detail is amazing, and the group still achieves the warmth and beauty of tone that is one of the trademarks of their legendary Late Quartets on Supraphon.
For the Late Quartets, if I had to choose between the Denon and the Supraphon, I would go with the Supraphon in op. 95, 131, 132, and 135 and the Denon in 127 (one of the best I've heard), 130 (ditto), and the Fugue.
Hi ! The Orford Quartet in their first incarnation with St.Cyr on cello made a complete recording on 12 lps for CBC in Canada between 76-80 , not reissued yet , but somebody should give them a chance !
The Elias Quartet cycle, recorded live at the Wigmore Hall is now complete and available on the Wigmore Hall label. https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/products/8501227--beethoven-the-complete-string-quartets-volume-6
I'm loving the Pascal Quartet's cycle and wish I could find more than one rather negative review that to which you refer readers. I just picked up the whole cycle on vintage LP's and also the Rasoumovsky quartets in red vinyl from Chamber Music Society. The set won the Grand Prix du Disque in its day. Still, thank you for your survey!
Thanks, Althair for the comment. If you find another review, I'll be happy to add it. But if you do, try to hit me up on instagramm or Twitter (ClassicalCritic), as I don't get notified of comments, here.
The Cleveland Quartet's 70's cycle is now available on CD as part of a box set of their complete RCA recordings... https://www.amazon.com/Cleveland-Quartet-Complete-Album-Collection/dp/B0CJ5BNPM6/ref=sr_1_1?crid=24C3DTUE2WPBC&keywords=cleveland+quartet+complete+rca&qid=1705504361&sprefix=cleveland+rca%2Caps%2C172&sr=8-1
Hi, just a heads-up. The Shanghai Quartet have put out a cycle on the Camerata label in Japan (link below). The links on the site take you a site in Japanese so I've no idea how much these individual discs cost but I'll hazard a guess you'll have to take out a 2nd mortgage to buy the lot. There's a rave allmusic review of the SQ4,5&6 disc online. https://www.shanghaiquartet.com/en/recordings Btw, there's also a 2nd live Ebène cycle recorded in late 2020 (during lockdown so no audience). They re-recorded the whole set at the Philharmonie in Paris. Dvd only (like the Belcea 2). It's an absolute cracker.
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"Emerson Quartet
ReplyDelete(1994-1995)
Eugene Drucker, Philip Setzer, Lawrence Dutton, David Finckel
The Perfectionists."
Thankfully.
This is an excellent survey. Thank you so much for taking the time to research and write it.
ReplyDeleteYou might be interested to know that most of these sets are available on Spotify. I now have several new sets to check out!
Thanks for the kind words. I reckon that a lot is available at Spotify; even more at the Naxos Music Library. I thought of making a spotify playlist but then thought better of it, since it would be very difficult to navigate and not very practical. What might be better would be links to the sets on spotify, where available... but that is yet again a lot more work which I would do, or so it'd feel, only because Spotify is too lazy to properly meta-tag classical music.
ReplyDeleteThanks for this wonderful survey--I didn't see the first Cleveland Quartet Cycle, which to my knowledge only appeared on RCA LP sets in the late 70s/early 80s. If you need it, I can provide the box numbers. I also transferred the LPs since I'm not a subscriber to any streaming service, so I don't know if they're at all available in digital format.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Bill, for the comment. There IS an early Cleveland Quartet Cycle??? Yes, I would love to know more about it. Do you happen to have the recording dates (earliest and latest)? It never made it onto CD then, huh?
ReplyDeleteBest,
Jens
jfl--I don't know the exact recording dates of the earlier Cleveland cycle, but the LP sets were first released in 1979, 1980 and 1983. And no, it appears that the first cycle was never re-released on CD.
ReplyDeleteI'm willing to share Google Docs links for my transfers of the first cycle, along with pretty much all of the RCA LPs that they did, which were also never apparently re-released on CD. I did these because my son studied under Don Weilerstein at New England Conservatory, and Mr. W hadn't heard these old recordings for decades, so we gathered secondhand copies of the disks and did the transfers, which we gave to him.
However, it appears now that the Cleveland Quartet's historical website now allows you to stream their older RCA (and also it seems some of the CBS and Telarc ones). This includes all of their earlier Beethovens. Here's the link:
http://www.clevelandquartet.com/albums/
Dear Bill, thanks for the link and the info. As you can see, I found some of the information and I've already included it above. In the course of this, I've discovered at least two more sets that I have missed, because they also never made it off LPs in any shape or form. Best,
ReplyDeleteJens
I think I might have found a set missing from your survey: Wihan Quartet on Nimbus. Here's a link to their set of the Middle quartets on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Middle-String-Quartets-LUDWIG-BEETHOVEN/dp/B002FAD74E/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1516227087&sr=8-3&keywords=wihan+beethoven
ReplyDeleteAwesome, Mark --
ReplyDeleteI'll get on it at once. Or, well, some time this week. :-)
Thanks so much & warm regards,
Jens
Hello again! It looks like we have a new release of an old classic. Unless I'm mistaken, Sony has just released the mono Budapest cycle mentioned above as Budapest 1. Here's the Amazon link: https://www.amazon.com/Budapest-String-Quartet-Complete-Beethoven/dp/B0776K6TTN/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1523589148&sr=1-1.
ReplyDeleteCheers, Mark
Thanks, Mark! Included above.
ReplyDeleteGreat discography! Thanks so much!
ReplyDeleteHave you considered including collections of only the late quartets? As you're no doubt aware, there are several notable, even legendary sets: the Busch, the Hollywood, and the Yale sets immediately come to mind. The LaSalle also recorded a set, and the Mosaïques recently released a provocative new set (although I don't think they have plans to complete a cycle by also recording the middle quartets ... but who knows?). I can't imagine a Beethoven quartet aficionado going without at least some of those collections!
Thanks for the comment - and apologies for seeing it only so late.
ReplyDeleteI have not thought of making an overview of just the late quartets... at least not so far.
But come to think of it, the Busch Quartet should have a fairly decently sized Beethoven String Quartet discography, if one collected all their recordings. Perhaps a "notable/incomplete cycle" page might be merited, sort-of as with the Beethoven Piano Sonatas.
Yes, aware of the Mosaiques; they were among my top 10 recordings of last year:
Forbes: The 10 Best Classical Recordings Of 2017
I think that they will at least try to record the middle quartets as well, actually. I briefly spoke to them about continuing the cycle on Naive on a different label (before Naive was taken over and resuscitated) and they appeared very willing.
Cheers, jfl
Greetings Jens! I wanted to alert you of one additional (and quite rare) existing complete set, along with three others that are nearing completion. First, there was a "joint effort" complete set by the Aeolian Quartet (late quartets) and Gabrieli Quartet (early and middle quartets) on London back in the 90's. You can find a link to it on Amazon, although the MP3 version they link to is incorrect (it links to the earlier Hungarian set). This is actually a very good set, and rather hard to find. I lucked into it on eBay a few years back.
ReplyDeleteIn addition, the Miro Quartet, Cuarteto Casals and Arianna Quartet are all nearing the completion of their sets. The Miro Quartet currently lack only Op. 127, 132 & 135; the Casals are 2/3 of the way through; and the Arianna lack the Late Quartets.
All the best! /Mark Wilson
Great survey, thanks.
ReplyDeleteI must say for be the Berg remains the best. they are not too slow (Cleveland, Borodin) not too fast (Emerson). With gorgeous tone but also great vigor.
But, let's face it, it's the music that is out of this world.
Thanks much, Mark, for the tip on the Gabrieli/Aeolian on Decca. I found some information on it, but not all. Any chance you could read in the liner notes when these were recorded? Between 1974 and 1979 would be my estimate, based on the little information I could find. But having been, for however brief a moment, "THE" standard Decca set, that's a major omission/find on my part.
ReplyDeleteI've got some of the projects that are under way on my radar; not the Miro, though. Thanks again & all the best,
Jens
Hello Jens,
ReplyDeleteAccording to the liner notes, the recordings took place in 1974, 1978, 1979 and 1981. Venues were Kingsway Hall, London; St. John's, Smith Square, London; Rosslyn Hill Chapel, Hampstead; and St. Barnabas Church, London. For all that variety, the set is quite enjoyable and doesn't sound overly patchwork.
Thanks /Mark
Hello Jens,
ReplyDeleteHappy 2020! The end of 2019 has brought us two new complete cycles. First is from the Miro Quartet on Pentatone: https://www.amazon.com/Complete-String-Quartets-Miro-Quartet/dp/B07VCML4VD/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1RTDP6XJ0Y2D9&keywords=miro+quartet+beethoven&qid=1577985518&sprefix=miro+quartet+beethoven%2Caps%2C202&sr=8-1
Next up is the Quatuor Stanislas on Forgotten Records: https://forgottenrecords.com/en/beethoven-integrale-des-quatuors-a-cordes-quatuor-stanislas-fr17018
And finally, Sony is reissuing the classic Juilliard cycle from the sixties: https://www.amazon.com/Beethoven-Quartets-1964-19-Juilliard-Quartet/dp/B07YMF23VL/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3TP72KWIMJVYY&keywords=beethoven+string+quartets&qid=1577985684&s=music&sprefix=beethoven+string+quartets%2Caps%2C240&sr=1-1
I have listened to the new Miro cycle and think it's great.
All the best,
Mark
Thanks Mark for these updates! Very much appreciated.
ReplyDeleteThe Cuarteto Casals, is third and final part in their cycle soon
ReplyDeletehttps://cuartetocasals.com/en/discography
https://www.amazon.com/Apotheosis-Beethoven-Complete-String-Quartets/dp/B084DG1BTY/ref=sr_1_8?crid=J4R9V1QSF4TN&keywords=cuarteto+casals&qid=1581697646&sprefix=Cuarteto%2Caps%2C226&sr=8-8
What I've heard of the set I quite like, do I need another cycle no but this on my want list.
Also the Schaffer and Pascal cycles is available as part of box set issued on the Ars Nova label
https://www.hmv.co.jp/en/artist_Quartet-Classical_000000000222284/item_Schaffer-Q-The-Legendary-String-Quartet_10524886
https://www.hmv.co.jp/en/artist_Quartet-Classical_000000000222284/item_The-Art-of-Pascal-String-Quartet-32CD_9046207
Hi Jens --
ReplyDeleteThanks for this great resource! Two updates from trolling the Amazon mp3 listings:
The Fine Arts Quartets set has been digitally released by Everest:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07VWF1BGW/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_d_asin_title_o00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
And Melodiya has released the hard-to-find, damn-near-impossible-to-search-for, cycle from The Beethoven Quartet, albeit at a ridiculous price:
https://www.amazon.com/Beethoven-Complete-Quartets-Quartet/dp/B082LZ6NHG/ref=sr_1_12
Beethoven Quartet's Beethoven quartets to be released in April:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.prestomusic.com/classical/products/8719770--beethoven-complete-quartets
Hello:
ReplyDeleteThe Beethoven Quartet cycle on Melodiya should be out soon: https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/products/8719770--beethoven-complete-quartets
Regards,
Diederik
Hi Jens -
ReplyDeleteGreat site, yeoman’s work that will not go unappreciated!
The Guarneri RCA cycle has been reissued/remastered in 24/96 as part of the Sony “Masters” series. The sound is, I believe, improved from the earlier OOP CD transfers. And the playing...perhaps only the ABQ, Italians, and Emersons can match the Guarneri for virtuosity.
Keep up the great work!!
Thanks, Diederik and Jim for the comments and updates! MUCH appreciated!
ReplyDeleteHI,
ReplyDeleteThis is a very interesting and informative survey.
2 other quartets have just released complete sets:
1. The Kuss Quartet on Rubicon
2. Quatuor Ebene OMG Warner
Both sets were recorded live. The Kuss are impressive.
Best,
Louis
HI,
ReplyDeleteThis is a very interesting and informative survey.
2 other interesting quartets have just released complete sets:
1. The Kuss Quartet on Rubicon
2. Quatuor Ebene on Warner
Both sets were recorded live.
Best,
Louis
Good grief what a lot of work! Thank you for your dedication.
ReplyDeleteI concur that it would be helpful to have some sort of addendum to include the Busch and other incomplete traversals of note.
Hi
ReplyDeleteI don't see in this survey the version of "Quatuor Bulgare" on Harmonia Mundi LPs around 70'.
KR
Ghislain
Jens, the Smetana Denon cycle was just re-released in 2020 by Supraphon, in Hi Res remastered sound (24/192). What's interesting is that Supraphon's release and liner notes both agree that the 2020 remasterings were done from the original analogue tapes.
ReplyDeleteIn the early days of the CD, Denon released a number of 'DDD" recordings studio recordings (Pires Mozart Sonatas, for example) that dated back to the early 1970s - well before any other label had adopted digital recording. The earliest of the performances on this new 2020 set date from 1976. My guess is that Denon recorded in both analogue and digital in those early years, hence the ADD nature of this present remastering.
To my ears, the sound of this newly remastered set is excellent, if a little on the bright side. The detail is amazing, and the group still achieves the warmth and beauty of tone that is one of the trademarks of their legendary Late Quartets on Supraphon.
For the Late Quartets, if I had to choose between the Denon and the Supraphon, I would go with the Supraphon in op. 95, 131, 132, and 135 and the Denon in 127 (one of the best I've heard), 130 (ditto), and the Fugue.
Love your work, sir!
The Colorado Quartet's complete cycle is available for 99¢ on Amazon:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N6SWRVG/
Hi ! The Orford Quartet in their first incarnation with St.Cyr on cello made a complete recording on 12 lps for CBC in Canada between 76-80 , not reissued yet , but somebody should give them a chance !
ReplyDeleteThanks again for the great suggestions, hints, and corrections. I am very grateful for them, even if I only respond periodically!
ReplyDeleteCheers,
Jens
The Elias Quartet cycle, recorded live at the Wigmore Hall is now complete and available on the Wigmore Hall label.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.prestomusic.com/classical/products/8501227--beethoven-the-complete-string-quartets-volume-6
The latest cycle to be completed is the US based Dover Quartet - with the late quartets being released recently.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.prestomusic.com/classical/search?search_query=dover%20beethoven
I'm loving the Pascal Quartet's cycle and wish I could find more than one rather negative review that to which you refer readers. I just picked up the whole cycle on vintage LP's and also the Rasoumovsky quartets in red vinyl from Chamber Music Society. The set won the Grand Prix du Disque in its day. Still, thank you for your survey!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Althair for the comment. If you find another review, I'll be happy to add it. But if you do, try to hit me up on instagramm or Twitter (ClassicalCritic), as I don't get notified of comments, here.
ReplyDeleteCheers,
Jens
The Cleveland Quartet's 70's cycle is now available on CD as part of a box set of their complete RCA recordings...
ReplyDeletehttps://www.amazon.com/Cleveland-Quartet-Complete-Album-Collection/dp/B0CJ5BNPM6/ref=sr_1_1?crid=24C3DTUE2WPBC&keywords=cleveland+quartet+complete+rca&qid=1705504361&sprefix=cleveland+rca%2Caps%2C172&sr=8-1
Thanks, Paul Thomas, for the comment/link with the Cleveland 70s cycle.
ReplyDeleteI don't like these catch-all boxes, myself, but I'll certainly incorporate the link!
Hi, just a heads-up. The Shanghai Quartet have put out a cycle on the Camerata label in Japan (link below). The links on the site take you a site in Japanese so I've no idea how much these individual discs cost but I'll hazard a guess you'll have to take out a 2nd mortgage to buy the lot. There's a rave allmusic review of the SQ4,5&6 disc online.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.shanghaiquartet.com/en/recordings
Btw, there's also a 2nd live Ebène cycle recorded in late 2020 (during lockdown so no audience). They re-recorded the whole set at the Philharmonie in Paris. Dvd only (like the Belcea 2). It's an absolute cracker.
Thanks for the latest tip, anonymous. Much appreciated. Will try to incorp. those ASAP.
ReplyDeleteCheers,
j