Hard as it is to believe, Decca has never released a complete cycle of all Beethoven's string quartets. But then Decca has never been a chamber music label: it has had a history of spectacular opera and orchestral recordings, but most of its string quartet recordings were quietly released on its budget label. And even at a budget price, no Decca artist ever took on the whole Beethoven cycle. Thus, this recording of Beethoven's Op. 59 and 74 quartets by the Takács Quartet is the first of a projected cycle of all the ...
Read More
Hard as it is to believe, Decca has never released a complete cycle of all Beethoven's string quartets. But then Decca has never been a chamber music label: it has had a history of spectacular opera and orchestral recordings, but most of its string quartet recordings were quietly released on its budget label. And even at a budget price, no Decca artist ever took on the whole Beethoven cycle. Thus, this recording of Beethoven's Op. 59 and 74 quartets by the Takács Quartet is the first of a projected cycle of all the Beethoven quartets ever undertaken by a Decca artist. It was worth the wait. The Takács' combination of two Hungarian and two English players has taken some time to settle, but the group is now at the top of its form with the edgier attacks of the English players wholly fused with the warm sonorities of the Hungarians. From a technical point of view, their performances are easily the equal of the best ever recorded: listen to their reckless but brilliant dash through fugue at the end of Op....
Read Less
