The liner notes for this first volume of Nimbus Records' Complete Mozart String Quartets, written by the violist of the American String Quartet (ASQ), make a bold step in trying to define what constitutes "perfect" Mozart. Daniel Avshalomov asserts that this perfection lies somewhere between the extremes of coldly playing precisely what is on the page and a completely personal performance that inadequately takes the composer's wishes into account. In fact, the American String Quartet's performance of these nine string ...
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The liner notes for this first volume of Nimbus Records' Complete Mozart String Quartets, written by the violist of the American String Quartet (ASQ), make a bold step in trying to define what constitutes "perfect" Mozart. Daniel Avshalomov asserts that this perfection lies somewhere between the extremes of coldly playing precisely what is on the page and a completely personal performance that inadequately takes the composer's wishes into account. In fact, the American String Quartet's performance of these nine string quartets comes pretty close to hitting the mark between these two extremes. Whether or not this actually reflects "perfection" in Mozart is still highly subjective and up to individual listeners to decide. The ASQ does, however, give performances with ample amounts of consideration to the score and an academic understanding of the works coupled with just enough warmth and emotion without ever becoming sappy or overdone. The three discs of this first volume present the quartets in somewhat...
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