Samuel: String Quartets 1&2/Transformations

On this CD:

1. String Quartet No.1
Composed by Gerhard Samuel

2. Transformations for violin & orchestra
Composed by Gerhard Samuel
Performed by Starling Chamber Orchestra with Paul Yeager

3. String Quartet No.2
Composed by Gerhard Samuel

Tracks:

String Quartet No.1 'From The Salvation Army': I. Andante con moto
String Quartet No.1 'From The Salvation Army': II. Allegro - Allegro con spirito - Quasi andante
String Quartet No.1 'From The Salvation Army': III. Adagio cantabile - Allegretto- Andante con moto - Adagio cantabile
String Quartet No.1 'From The Salvation Army': IV. Allegro marziale - Poco andante con moto - Allegro marziale
Scherzo - 'Holding Your Own': Fast - Slow - Allegro
String Quartet Op.11: I. Molto allegro e appassionato
String Quartet Op.11: II. Molto adagio - attacca
String Quartet Op.11: Molto allegro (come prima) - Presto
String Quartet No.2: I. Discussions: Andantd moderato - Andante con spirito - Adagio molto
String Quartet No.2: II. ArgumentsL Allegro con spirito - Andante emasculata 0 Allegro con fisto 0 Presto - largo sweetota - Allegro con fisto - Largo - Allegro con fuoco - Andante con scratchy - Allegro con fistiswatto
String Quartet No.2: III. 'The Call Of The Mountains': Adagio Andante - Andante con spirito - Adagio primo - Adagio meatoso

Amazon.com

Barber's string quartet is the source of that famous Adagio for strings, popularized by the movie Platoon in its later arrangement for full string orchestra. It makes an even stronger impression in its original context, sandwiched between two thematically related quicker movements. Ives's two quartets represent the two opposing poles of his character: the early First Quartet is a lyrical work based on hymn tunes, while in the Second all hell breaks loose as the four players literally fling themselves at the music (and each other), until they finally decide--in the words of the composer--to shut up, go out, and view the firmament. The end is suitably cosmic, as are these stunning performances. --David Hurwitz

Customer Reviews:

Great Barber.......2005-04-19

I really liked the performance of the Samuel Barber string quartet. If played well, this, and other of Barber's pieces assume their true position of great, great importance within the American and, most especially, Euro-American composers repertoires.

He is one of the most important composers.

We can hear this here though one could also leave this recording aside after listening to it not knowing the work's great importance as, greater than the identification of the work as such, there is a lovely and incredible personalness from the players in the identifying with this work which they realise is very great (and so do we). Then also what they do is they demonstrate or exhibit a very, very special uniqueness of this piece itself for which I would give the recording 98 or 99 out of 100. It doesn't claim to be definitive at all, the very opposite, and is joyous to listen to and much more. Indeed we seem to visit a vast and seemingly endless world of this.

Much of Charles Ives's music which I know, though I don't know much, I rate in a similar though more personal way though the music is more untouchable and remote to me and in terms of greatness and also, kind of importance, though sometimes I would state great importance.

I have to say that I don't find these performances very convincing or enlightening. I have tried for years to listen to these quartets by the Emmersons but have failed. I haven't heard any other recording of the quartets, which is my own fault. The first of the two pieces for four string instruments starts very well and is inducing and one assumes that the Emmersons are able in this territory, but I think they lose the piece entirely, without doubt, though at various points they convey fluency though this is even more irritating as one can't detatch oneself from the music then.

I have no idea what to make of the second quartet. After imagining, truly and not non-deeply that I was quite familiar and totally confluent with this piece, as it is challenging, for some time, over a year maybe, I realised after this that this was the very most disturbingly avante-garde piece that I had ever come across. And I can only describe it as such, it remains this, and without any extra favourable comments at all in support of the piece, after maybe eleven years.

I have to blame the Emmersons for this, and utterly so. It is the strangest occurrence in my complete familiarity with music.

Perhaps, though, the Barber performance is on a similar level of awe in the domain of a great "telling" for me in my experience, sometimes much more so and I think eternal wisdom is being expressed, and surely and with mature, great, masterly ease is in the expression.

I must get a new recording of the Ives quartets.

Come View the Firmament!!.......2004-01-30

I'm not sure if I could think of two American composers who have less in common than Charles Ives and Samuel Barber. One was the ultimate craggy individualist, completely American to his toes and a fascinating mix of the homespun amateur and the modernist. The other was the ultimate professional composer, possessed of a finely honed technique and a romantic sensibility that made him one of the most popular and beloved, and least "American" sounding composers of his generation. And yet, as this disc attests, the two can sit side by side on the same disc without shame. Especially in vigorous performances like the ones the Emerson quartet give here.

The String Quartet in b minor is Samuel Barber's only foray into the form, one that for him was probably not as congenial as other genres. Though possessed of a marvelous facility for harmony and counterpoint, Barber always seems better with the bigger tonal palette of the orchestra, or at least the presence of a piano in his music. His genius is less individual in this work, at least in the opening and closing movements. The Quartet begins with a brisk Allegro in a solid, conservative neo-classical style. This music returns again in the Finale, though much more briefly stated. In between, though is the gem of the piece; the Adagio which was immortalized by the composer in his arrangement for string orchestra. It is a masterpiece of long sustained melody and inspired contrapuntal writing. In this less familiar version, the work looses some of the passion present in the string orchestra version, but seems more personally tragic, more introspective. This is a lovely work and comes by it's immense popularity honestly.

The Ives works much different, though a careful listening to either string quartet gives the lie to the notion that Ives was an autodidact or basically unschooled. The First Quartet was written in 1896 while Ives was finishing up his studies with Horatio Parker at Yale. The musical idiom is late German Romanticism, with strong influences of Brahms, Tchaikovsky and Dvorak. Yet the work is distinctive in a way that Ives' First Symphony is not. For one thing, Ives uses Protestant Revival hymns in this work, which he was careful to avoid in the Symphony, knowing it would incur the wrath of the Euro-centric Parker. This work also shows a greater sense of craft than the symphony, and a more individual sense of harmony, probably also derived from the homespun harmonies of the hymns. The work opens with a magnificent fugue based on the Missionary Hymn, which will eventually make up the third movement of his massive Fourth Symphony. Other movements are equally beautifully done. The over all impression left by this quartet is of a fresh and original Romantic voice, already outshining the more established American composers of his time. Had Ives continued in this style, he could well have been as beloved as Copland or other American composers of later generations.

While the First Quartet still has it's roots in the harmonic practice of the 19th century, the Second Quartet is a more modernist affair, though in program as Romantic as anything Ives ever did. The Quartet is constructed in three movements - Discussion - Argument - Contemplation. Ives provided a programme for the work which he believed showed the bond between four men who, "converse, discuss, argue (in re: Politick), fight, shake hands, shut up - then walk up the mountain side to view the firmament!" The work is a joyously democratic piece, even celebrating the messiness of democracy. The first movement is mostly slow and extremely dissonant. It gradually builds to a climax in which four tunes are quoted, representing political points of view. In the second movement, everything busts loose. The quartet can't seem to agree on anything, what music to play, what tempo to take. The second violinist, who takes on the character of "Rollo", the name Ives used for anyone who embodied overly refined society, tries to inject a sugary cadenza and is immediately shouted down by the rest of the quartet. The chaos reached a fevered and humorous pitch, with Rollo insistently scrapping away at double stops as if he's having a tantrum while snippets of Beethoven and Tchaikovsky fight for dominance, and finally the political themes reappear in full battle gear and the movement draws to a scratchy and furious conclusion.

But the final movement puts the entire piece into perspective. This is Ives at his most sublime. Otherworldly dissonances start the movement, which gradually builds to the viola's statement of the hymn Nearer My God To Thee, mixed with strains that recall the bells of Westminster Abbey. These themes are then slowly and majestically drawn into a shining D major coda, as if to say that after all the fighting and all the arguments, this alone is what matters, ascending the mountains to see the world in all it's glory and to walk ever closer with God. A more profound statement on the ultimate importance of politics I could not imagine.

The Barber Quartet has a number of competitors on disc, the Ives has fewer. For whatever reason, the Ives Quartets aren't as "sexy" as other Ives works like the Concord Sonata. But in any case the Emerson Quartet fairs well with the repertoire, equaling readings by Kronos and the Linsay Quartet and in the Ives I find them superior to the Lydian Quartet and the Mondrian Quartet. This is a fine release and worthy to be purchased for anyone interested in fine works by fine American composers!

Fine American Music.......2000-06-21

This is one of my favorite discs. The Ives Scherzo is played with precision and drive. The Ives 2d quartet is beautiful throughout. The first movement of the Barber is just flawless, so wonderfully played it's simply inspiring. The Adagio has been nicely integrated into the whole work, and doesn't assume a life of it's own. If you internalized the adagio and came across the first/third movement later, you may not like this adagio. Nonetheless, it is done correctly: Emerson maintains rhythmic consistency and doesn't indulge in unnecessary rubato, which indeed makes any rubato that much more dramatic. It's a very powerful performance of the quartet, and one of the warmer renditions of the secondary theme of the first movement and the adagio. Needless to say, Emerson also nails the first Ives quartet.

Béla Bartók: The Six String Quartets - Juilliard String Quartet

Average customer rating:

Compositions: Outstanding! Performance: Mixed.
Doesn't compare to the 1963 Juilliard version
Beautiful music, poor rendition
Julliard interprets Bartok's works excellently
a neoclassical reading at a bargain price

Béla Bartók: The Six String Quartets - Juilliard String Quartet
Robert Mann , Earl Carlyss , Joel Krosnick , Samuel [viola] Rhodes , and Juilliard String Quartet
Manufacturer: Sony
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Quartets | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

Classical Music | The Sony BMG Masterworks Store | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music
ASIN: B0000029YN
Release Date: 1997-11-18

Tracks:

The Six String Quartets: String Quartet No.1, Op.7 - Lento - Bartok
The Six String Quartets: Allegretto - Bartok
The Six String Quartets: Allegro Vivace - Bartok
The Six String Quartets: String Quartet No.2, Op.17 - Moderato - Bartok
The Six String Quartets: Allegro Molto Capriccioso - Bartok
The Six String Quartets: Lento - Bartok
The Six String Quartets: String Quartett No.3 - Prima Parte: Moderato - Bartok
The Six String Quartets: Seconda Parte: Allegro - Bartok
The Six String Quartets: Ricapitulazione Della Prima Parte: Moderato - Bartok
The Six String Quartets: Coda: Allegro Molto - Bartok
The Six String Quartets: String Quartet No.4 - Allegro - Bartok

Tracks:

The Six String Quartets: String Quartet No. 4 - Prestissimo, Con Sordino - Bela Bartok
The Six String Quartets: Non Troppo Lento - Bela Bartok
The Six String Quartets: Allegretto Pizzicato - Bela Bartok
The Six String Quartets: Allegro Molto - Bela Bartok
The Six String Quartets: String Quartet No. 5 - Allegro - Bela Bartok
The Six String Quartets: Adagio Molto - Bela Bartok
The Six String Quartets: Scherzo - Alla Bulgarese - Bela Bartok
The Six String Quartets: Andante - Bela Bartok
The Six String Quartets: Finale - Allegro Vivace - Bela Bartok
The Six String Quartets: String Quartet No. 6 - Mesto- Vivace - Bela Bartok
The Six String Quartets: Mesto - Marcia - Bela Bartok
The Six String Quartets: Mesto - Burletta - Moderato - Bela Bartok
The Six String Quartets: Mesto - Bela Bartok

Amazon.com essential recording

The Juilliard Quartet burst upon the international musical scene in the 1950s with a series of acclaimed performances of the six Bartók string quartets. Five decades later they are still renowned for their performances of this music, and no one interested in this superb group can afford to pass up this set, digitally recorded in 1981 and now available at budget price. These quartets have been very frequently recorded over the years, but few more recent versions match the Juilliard in terms of both interpretive and technical excellence. --David Hurwitz

Customer Reviews:

Compositions: Outstanding! Performance: Mixed........2007-06-04

These are great pieces of music and the Juilliard Quartet performs the slow movements beautifully. The fast movements are accurate, but lacking impact. The recording quality is fairly good. Bela Bartok: The 6 String Quartets - Emerson String Quartet does a better job of the fast movements, but not as well on the slow movements. I would recommend the Hungarian String Quartet Bartók: 6 String Quartets recording instead.

P.S. I saw the Juilliard String Quartet perform Bartok's 5th string quartet in 2005 and it was phenomenal. I'm just reviewing the recording here, not today's quartet!

Doesn't compare to the 1963 Juilliard version.......2003-11-11

It is a shame that the 1981 Juilliard cycle has been the only available Juilliard cycle for some time, because it is by far the weakest of the three. Sure, it is a relatively cheap CD set, but I don't really feel it is worth the money. The playing, compared to the Juilliard's incomparable 1963 recording, is positively anemic. The sound quality also leaves a lot to be desired. Overall, this is an unsatisfying listening experience.

If you want the 1963 Juilliard version, good luck. It is available only as an import, and is generally a challenge to acquire. The same can be said of the Alban Berg Quartett cycle. Probably the best domestically available version would be the Emerson Quartet's cycle.

Some people may be thinking that they are getting the 1963 version with this CD set. Don't be fooled --- this version is significantly inferior and should definitely not be your first choice.

Beautiful music, poor rendition.......2003-08-06

It has been said that Bartok's string quartets together are the best thing to happen to classical music since Beethoven's string quartets. There are many wonderful quartets out there performing these quartets, but this recording by the Juilliard Quartet just doesn't rank up there. I swear by the Emerson Quartet's rendition on Deutsche Grammophon which has wonderful recording quality and an amazing performance. I've heard the Takacs Quartet live and they indeed have their own wonderful way of interpreting the music that's different from the Emerson Quartet. I'd recommend either quartet's work heartily over the Juilliard's version, which is thin, lifeless, and simply unsatisfying. Don't think you're saving money -- you'll just end up buying one of the better versions anyway!

Julliard interprets Bartok's works excellently.......2002-12-10

There are better interpretations of these seminal works available -- Takacs Quartet and Emerson Quartet do excellent versions, I'm told -- but for someone on a budget who would love to hear six great, innovative string quartets, you can't beat this disc.

A two-disc set recorded in 1981 by the famed Julliard String Quartet, this collection takes what are considered by many to be the finest string quartets ever written and gives them a clear, beautiful interpretation. While the first two (and last) quartets are quiet and contemplative, things get really exciting in the middle portion, with 3, 4 and 5 bristling with energy and tension. This is "modern" classical at its finest.

Julliard shows why Bartok was such a revered composer. If you want to go all out and get the aforementioned Takacs or Emerson versions, I'm sure you'll be sonically rewarded. But two excellent discs for under $15 is a great deal.

a neoclassical reading at a bargain price.......2001-08-16

Bartok composed the great string quartet cycle of the early 20th century. Of the various available recordings, this Juilliard from 1981 has one obvious advantage -- it's cheaper. By all means, listen, it's a fine version, but you'll never know what you're missing if you don't hear the Takacs Quartet's "gypsy" version!

The 3rd, 4th, and 5th quartets are sheer modernist genius. The 1st and 2nd are less innovative -- the 1st is in the romantic tradition. The 6th is calm and tragic, written as Bartok prepared to leave Hungary for the USA.

Here are some comparisons between the Juilliard and Takacs recordings -- an advantage of the Juilliard is that the quartets are in order, while the Takacs changes the order. The resulting disadvantage of the Juilliard is that #4 is split. The Juilliard has perfunctory liner notes, while the Takacs has superb, extensive liner notes describing each piece and how it was written. As for the music, these are very different interpretations. The Juilliard Quartet sounds quite neoclassical -- light, even thin, restrained, and emphasizing the ensemble more than individual lines. In dramatic contrast, the Takacs Quartet sounds rougher, earthier, "gypsy" -- they are heavier, thicker, more passionate, and sound more like four individuals playing together than a unified ensemble. So far, a matter of interpretation. Both are valid, and the differences highlight the rich potential of the scores. BUT, there is a serious problem with the Juilliard, and that is why I give it only 4 stars -- the recording seems to slight the bass end, with a faint cello. The Juilliard recording of Carter's quartets doesn't suffer from this problem, and so I have to conclude that the problem is in the recording, not the playing. The recording of the Takacs disc is superb and balanced, and is probably partly responsible for the sound of four distinct lines.

Tracks:

Quartet No. 7, Op. 59, No.1: I- Allegro - L.V. Beethoven
Quartet No. 7, Op. 59, No.1: Andante con moto quasi allegretto - L.V. Beethoven
Quartet No. 7, Op. 59, No. 1: III- Adagio molto e mesto - L.V. Beethoven
Quartet No. 7, Op. 59 No. 1: IV-Allegro - L.V. Beethoven

Tracks:

Quartet No. 8, Op. 59, No. 2: I. Allegro
Quartet No. 8, Op. 59, No. 2: II. Molto adagio
Quartet No. 8, Op. 59, No. 2: III. Allegretto
Quartet No. 8, Op. 59, No. 2: IV. Finale. Presto
Quartet No. 9 Op. 59, No. 3: I. Introduzione. Andante con moto - Allegro vivace
Quartet No. 9 Op. 59, No. 3: II. Andante con moto quasi allegretto
Quartet No. 9 Op. 59, No. 3: III. Menuetto. grazioso
Quartet No. 9 Op. 59, No. 3: IV. Allegro molto

Tracks:

Quartet No. 10, Op. 74: I. Poco adagio - allegro
Quartet No. 10, Op. 74: II. Adagio ma non troppo
Quartet No. 10, Op. 74: III. Presto
Quartet No. 10, Op. 74: IV. Allegretto con variazioni
Quartet No. 11, op. 95: I. Allegro con brio
Quartet No. 11, op. 95: II. Allegretto, ma non troppo
Quartet No. 11, op. 95: III. Allegro assai vivace, ma serioso
Quartet No. 11, op. 95: IV. Larghetto espressivo - Allegretto agitato

Customer Reviews:

Technically flawless, but not emotional.......2002-06-07

The Julliard String Quartet does a magnificent job of presenting Beethoven's material in a technically perfect performance. To a student, this would be the place to start. Classical music walks a tightrope between precision and passion. The death of classical music will be when it is no longer fun. In this recording the Julliard String Quartet seems to be working, not enjoying, the music.

The material is, of course, top notch, the middle-period string quartets being my favorites. This was the point in Beethoven's life when he found his own voice (the "Eroica" period it has been called) but before his tragic loss of hearing.

The Busch Quartet does a better job of performing the music, but the recordings are at least 50 years old, so the sound quality is somewhat compromised.

Tracks:

String Quartet In E-Flat Major, Op. 12: I. Adagio non troppo - Allegro non tardante
String Quartet In E-Flat Major, Op. 12: II. Canzonetta. Allegretto
String Quartet In E-Flat Major, Op. 12: III. Andante espressivo
String Quartet In E-Flat Major, Op. 12: IV. Molto allegro e vivace
String Quartet In A Minor, Op. 13: I. Adagio - Allegro vivace
String Quartet In A Minor, Op. 13: II. Adagio non lento
String Quartet In A Minor, Op. 13: III. Intermezzo. Allegretto con moto - Allegro di molto - Tempo I
String Quartet In A Minor, Op. 13: IV. Presto - Adagio non lento - Adagio come I

Amazon.com

Founded in 1947, the Juilliard is the oldest American string quartet but has undergone several personnel changes. The present constellation was formed in 1997; this is its debut recording. It is superb. Tonal homogeneity was never the group's first priority, but the players have already achieved an extraordinary degree of technical, musical, stylistic, and expressive integration. Their intonation, balance, and pacing are impeccable; their rhythmic flexibility, dynamics, mood, and tempo changes unanimous. Joel Smirnoff, formerly second, now first violinist, has a brilliant technique and an exceptionally beautiful, warm, sweet, intense, variable tone, just right for the ardor, passion, exuberance, and inward serenity of these mercurial works, written when Mendelssohn was not yet 20 but displaying incredible compositional skill and emotional maturity. Op. 13, written first, pays homage to Beethoven with virtual quotes from the quartets Op. 95 and 132. Both are vintage Mendelssohn with their beguiling, songful melodies that recur through all the movements; their partly wistful, partly scintillating intermezzos; and their poetic, rapturous romanticism. --Edith Eisler

Elliott Carter: The Four String Quartets / Duo for Violin & Piano - The Juilliard String Quartet / Christopher Oldfather

Average customer rating:

composer & quartet work well together
a muscular interpretation, a brilliant recording!
Not the first choice due to a lackluster 1st Quartet
Largeness,vast with weight of conception
Juillard Quartet performs Carter's masterworks

Elliott Carter: The Four String Quartets / Duo for Violin & Piano - The Juilliard String Quartet / Christopher Oldfather
Robert Mann , Joel Krosnick , Samuel [viola] Rhodes , Joel Smirnoff , Christopher Oldfather , and The Juilliard String Quartet
Manufacturer: Sony
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Quartets | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

Classical Music | The Sony BMG Masterworks Store | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music

Classical Instrumental Music | The Sony BMG Masterworks Store | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music
ASIN: B0000027J7
Release Date: 1991-09-26

Tracks:

String Quartet No.1 (1951): I. Fantasia: Maestoso
String Quartet No.1 (1951): I. Allegro scorrevole
String Quartet No.1 (1951): II. Allegro scorrevole
String Quartet No.1 (1951): II. Adagio - Variations
String Quartet No.1 (1951): III. Variations
String Quartet No. 2 (1959): Introduction
String Quartet No. 2 (1959): I. Allegro fantastico
Cadenza for Viola
String Quartet No. 2 (1959): II. Presto scherzando
String Quartet No. 2 (1959): Cadenza for Cello
String Quartet No. 2 (1959): III. Andante espressivo
String Quartet No. 2 (1959): Cadenza for Violin I
String Quartet No. 2 (1959): IV. Allegro
String Quartet No. 2 (1959): Conclusion

Tracks:

String Quartet No. 3 (1971): I
String Quartet No. 3 (1971): II
String Quartet No. 3 (1971): III
String Quartet No. 3 (1971): IV
String Quartet No. 3 (1971): V
String Quartet No. 3 (1971): VI
String Quartet No. 4 (1986): Appassionato
String Quartet No. 4 (1986): Scherzando (stesso tempo)
String Quartet No. 4 (1986): Lento (stesso tempo)
String Quartet No. 4 (1986): Presto
Duo For Violin And Piano (1974): I
Duo For Violin And Piano (1974): II
Duo For Violin And Piano (1974): III
Duo For Violin And Piano (1974): IV
Duo For Violin And Piano (1974): V

Amazon.com essential recording

These quartets are Juilliard specialties, and anyone wanting to hear this music played with a near ideal combination of virtuosity and humanity need look no further. Carter's quartets are not for the musically faint of heart: they are uncompromisingly thorny, intricate pieces that require lots of intense, dedicated listening. Very few people doubt their seriousness--or even their claims to musical greatness--but just as few people enjoy listening to them. Perhaps this spectacular set will encourage the adventurous to give them a shot. They're worth the time. --David Hurwitz

Customer Reviews:

composer & quartet work well together.......2002-05-21

The music is a brilliant, excellent investigation into one of the 20th century's new aesthetics in music. This cd also features a virtuoso interpretation & fine recording.

a muscular interpretation, a brilliant recording!.......2001-08-23

The Juilliard Quartet, with the supervision of Carter himself, recorded this version of the Four Quartets in 1991, only a few years after the Arditti Quartet had recorded them for Etcetera after touring with Carter. What a contrast!

The JQ performs these modernist masterpieces with a muscular, machine-like relentlessness, highlighting the structure. Their interpretation is masculine, in the traditional meaning of the word, while the AQ's interpretation is more lyrical and fluid, with broader vibrato, emphasizing feeling -- in a word, more traditionally feminine. If I had to choose one, I would take the Arditti performance, (and I agree that the JQ's tempo on the First is too slow) but they are both stellar. However, there are other considerations. The recording quality of the Juilliard Quartet on Sony is magnificent, while the AQ on Etcetera is much less crisp and clear. And the JQ/Sony package is all you could ask for, with a 28-page booklet extensively explaining the works, even diagramming the notoriously complex Third Quartet.

I would hate to have to choose -- I heartily recommend both versions. But the JQ version, all things considered, has the best claim to being the "standard." You must hear it!

Not the first choice due to a lackluster 1st Quartet.......2000-08-13

As far as I'm concerned, there is no one recording cycle that completely satisfies. However, I'd have to give the nod to the Arditti Quartet if for no other reason than this Julliard recording contains a vastly inferior interpretation of the 1st Quartet. Since that work is the key to getting inside of Elliott Carter's sound world ( I suppose one could argue for the Cello Sonata or Etudes for Woodwind Quartet ), it is crucial that a newcomer be introduced to a recording that does that particular piece justice. This is not the recording to do it. Coming from my experience with the Arditti and Composers Quartet versions, the 1993 Julliard is taken at too slow a tempo; the music seems bloated or bogged down and loses my attention. I'm not saying a newcomer couldn't possibly enjoy the performance; I just think the Arditti presents the music in a far better light. And I WOULD be surprised if those with prior experience with Carter prefer the 1994 Julliard interpretation of the 1st Quartet over the others previously recorded.

The Julliard's 2nd and 3rd Quartets are much more to my liking. However, they are completely blown away by their prior ( LP ) recordings of the same works in 1974 ( world premiere for the 3rd ), which are electrifying! I hope SONY considers releasing those recordings on CD at some point in the future.

RE the 4th; I've never warmed to this piece so I can't really say which ensemble takes pride of place. The Julliard haven't included the 5th Quartet ( 1995 ) since these sessions took place prior to Carter's completion of that work. The Arditti HAVE recorded it (Montaigne), making theirs the only complete cycle of Carter quartets available. Their 2nd & 3rd, although differing quite a bit in approach, don't seem MORE convincing than the 1993 Julliard ( the 1974 Julliard is, as I've implied, a world apart ).

Elliott Carter, for me, has composed the finest string quartet cycle since Bartok ( Brian Ferneyhough may be the next link in the "quartet chain" ). I urge people with a love for adventurous, well structured and moving music to check ALL of his work out. Currently 91 years old, he's certainly one of the most consistent composers in terms of the sheer quality of invention displayed piece after piece for the last half century. Nearly every one of his works since 1950 is either of ground-breaking importance ( Quartets, Double Concerto, Night Fantasies, Symphonia ) or at least of great interest ( Variations for Orch, A Mirror on Which to Dwell, Brass Quintet, numerous solo pieces ). I'd recommend starting with the Piano or Cello Sonatas ( mid/late 1940's ) if you still don't feel comfortable with composers working in a "serial" or quasi-serial vein but like Bartok and Stravinsky ( c. 1910-1930 ).

Largeness,vast with weight of conception.......2000-08-12

I stand somewhere in the center of all these reviews,it depends on what one expects to find in these Quartets, their "Visibility" factor. The First Quartet unquestionably broke vast amounts of conceptual ground in its originality and almost monumental in posture.The fast continuous treble,violin lines approaching utter madness although from a vastly different perspective than the European sensibility was music never heard before. Perhaps the last movement of Carter's "Piano Sonata" was a glimpse at this world. From that perspective the Juilliard here,especially with Krosnick's thick brooding cello timbre,gives/renders great weight to this First Quartet(1951),where de Sarem of Arditti has more a quicksilver,brighter,more wistful sound,not intending to blend with his brethren. To strike a judgemental posture the Arditti had recorded the Quartets during their first arduous backbreaking tour of the United States in 1988,with Carter,so I agree there is an opaqueness,a confused demeanor to their reading dating back to those times. But not any less compelling or fascinating,for their ferocious technique coerces them to transcend their lack of understadning through simply living with the work, there is no substitute for that. The Juilliard had lived longer with these works.

Juilliard here however reveals their sense of ultimate abandoned abstractedness in the Second Quartet(1959), a work which initially struck me as predating the First in gesture,scope and content. It is much more sparce,even dismal and bleak than the First Quartet without the overbearing weight and questioning violently spirit of the First. Juilliard I believe here understands this of the Second,however I'd like to hear Arditti play the Second today,with their penchant for independent role playing,violence and not afraid of making a noise,playing with guts unreservedly,for the independence of lines was an integral component of Carter's agenda here.

The Third leaves the First and Second in the dust, well some 20 years elapsed 1971,the date of the Third. And with Juilliard they turn the scope of this mind-boggling work apporaching symphonic shape with again, their large gestures always aimed at a traditional blending of timbres. Whereas Arditti would allow the shape of a timbre in the Third Quartet to expose itself.

Juillard Quartet performs Carter's masterworks.......2000-06-07

I think two Pulitzer Prizes (Second and Third quartets) speak for themselves. Carter's ever-challenging language requires a lot from the listener and a whole lot from the performer. Even harder than the execution of these works is the necessity to say something more profound than notation. The Juilliard Quartet is the perfect ensemble to do just that. Their long personal relationship with the works and almost effortless attention to the text make for an extraordinary result. This recording, aside from its historical significance, is a must-have for fans of highly-intense music-making and the great composers of our time and country.

Mozart: Piano Quartets; String Quartets Nos. 15 & 22; Oboe Quartet

Average customer rating:

Mozart: Piano Quartets; String Quartets Nos. 15 & 22; Oboe Quartet

Manufacturer: Vanguard Classics
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Quartets | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music
ASIN: B0001IN0DK
Release Date: 2004-04-27

Tracks:

Allegro - Peter Serkin
Andante - Peter Serkin
Rondo (Allegro) - Peter Serkin
Allegro - Peter Serkin
Larghetto - Peter Serkin
Allegretto - Peter Serkin

Tracks:

Allegro - The Yale Quartet
Andante - The Yale Quartet
Minuetto & Trio: Allegretto - The Yale Quartet
Allegretto Ma Non Troppo - Piu Allegro - The Yale Quartet
Allegretto - The Yale Quartet
Andante - The Yale Quartet
Minuetto & Trio: Allegretto - The Yale Quartet
Allegretto - The Yale Quartet
Allegro - Samuel Rhodes
Adagio - Samuel Rhodes
Rondo (Allegro) - Samuel Rhodes

Samuel: String Quartets 1&2/Transformations

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Samuel: String Quartets 1&2/Transformations

Manufacturer: Centaur
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music
ASIN: B0000057Y2
Release Date: 1995-10-24

Tracks:

String Quartet No.1 - The LaSalle String Quartet
Transformations - Paul Yeager
I
II
III

Koch International Classics CD Sampler #1

Average customer rating:

Koch International Classics CD Sampler #1

Manufacturer: Koch Int'l Classics
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Ballets | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music

Quartets | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

Trios | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

Fantasies | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

Suites | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Sacred & Religious | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Arias | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Hymns | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000001SDV
Release Date: 1994-04-20

Tracks:

Fanfare for JFK - The London Philharmonic
Sebastian (Ballet Suite) - The New Zealand Sym
Quintet for Flute & String Quartet - Dwyer/The Manhattan String Quartet
Cave of the Heart - The Atlantic Sinfonietta
Concert a cinq - The Atlantic Sinfonietta
Berceuse, Op.16 - Leonidas Kavakos/Anne Epperson
Quatour pour Saxophones - The Prism Quartet
Fantasie in c, KV 475 - Dubravka Tomsic
Trio Pathetique in d - Trio d'Amsterdam
Sonata No.4 in C - American Baroque
Sonata in D, K.491 (Allegro) - Elaine Thornburgh
Hymn of St. Columba - The Saint Thom as Choir of Men&Boys
The Comedians: Prologue/Comedian's Galop - The San Diego CO
Danish Folk-Music Suite: Lord Peter's Stable-Boy - The Melbourne SO
Wonderful Town - A Little Bit in Love - Judy Kaye/Steven Blier
Hi Ho! - Judy Kaye/Steven Blier
'Country Band' March - Orchestra New England
Dance Variations for Two Pianos & Orch:Tarantella - Joshua Pierce/Dorothy Jonas
Arias and Barcarolles: Nachspiel (In Memoriam) - Kaye/Sharp/Barrett

Brahms: String Quartets, Opp. 51 & 67; Clarinet Quintet, Op. 115

Average customer rating:

Ferocious Playing
A fabuluous recording

Brahms: String Quartets, Opp. 51 & 67; Clarinet Quintet, Op. 115

Manufacturer: Sony
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Quartets | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

Classical Music | The Sony BMG Masterworks Store | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music
ASIN: B000002AQ2
Release Date: 1995-06-13

Tracks:

String Quartet No. 1 In C Minor, Op 51 No 1: I. Allegro
String Quartet No. 1 In C Minor, Op 51 No 1: II. Romanze. Poco Adagio.
String Quartet No. 1 In C Minor, Op 51 No 1: III. Allegretto molto moderato e comodo - Un poco piu animato
String Quartet No. 1 In C Minor, Op 51 No 1: IV. Allegro
String Quartet No. 3 In B-Flat Major, Op.67: I. Vivace
String Quartet No. 3 In B-Flat Major, Op.67: II. Andante
String Quartet No. 3 In B-Flat Major, Op.67: III. Agitato (Allegretto non troppo) - Trio
String Quartet No. 3 In B-Flat Major, Op.67: IV. Poco Allegretto con Variazioni - Doppio Movimento

Tracks:

String Quartet No. 2 In A Minor, Op. 51 No. 2: I. Allegro non troppo
String Quartet No. 2 In A Minor, Op. 51 No. 2: II. Andante moderato
String Quartet No. 2 In A Minor, Op. 51 No. 2: III. Quasi Minuetto, moderato - Allegretto vivace
String Quartet No. 2 In A Minor, Op. 51 No. 2: IV. Finale. Allegro non assai
Quintet For Clarinet, 2 Violins, Viola, And Violoncello In B Minor, Op 115: I. Allegro
Quintet For Clarinet, 2 Violins, Viola, And Violoncello In B Minor, Op 115: II. Adagio
Quintet For Clarinet, 2 Violins, Viola, And Violoncello In B Minor, Op 115: III. Andantino - Presto non assai, ma con sentimento
Quintet For Clarinet, 2 Violins, Viola, And Violoncello In B Minor, Op 115: IV. Con moto - Un poco meno mosso

Amazon.com essential recording

Brahms destroyed more string quartets than he permitted to survive, and it's a medium in which he was never fully comfortable. Like Mozart, he tended to overwrite, making his textures thick and heavy in an attempt to maintain absolute equality between the four parts. The Juilliard Quartet understands these works and turns in performances that are strong on rhythm and energy, keeping the textures light and the musical argument moving forward. Add to that an excellent performance of the Clarinet Quintet, and the result is essential listening for fans of this exceptional ensemble. --David Hurwitz

Customer Reviews:

Ferocious Playing.......2003-03-12

Brahms is another of the many musical geniuses that seemed to populate the Romantic world. He excelled in almost every musical form - voice (solo, choral, accompanied), piano, concerto, symphony and chamber music. The latter is simultaneously both the most complex and cerebral while thoroughly intriguing and entertaining. They are not marked by grand soaring like the symphonies or the quirkiness of the piano works or even the emotion of the requiem.

As concert pieces they are unbeatable, continually melodic, oddly rhymthic, the interplay between the voices directed and modulated to effect. Best of all, there is the bare suppressed tension throughout almost all the movements and this is what a good chamber work must offer - that battle between a barely subdued frenzy and the yearning melody. This is an admirable recording, fully reproducing the composer and his intentions.

The only better setting would be in a small room with the players assembled a few yards away.

A fabuluous recording.......1999-02-10

The Juilliard outdoes itself here. This is a measured, thoughtful rendition of Brahms' string quartets (plus a lovely clarinet/strings quintet.) From a technical point of view, the CDs shine...the sound is vivid, immediate...it sounds LIVE. If you like Brahms, you'll love this.

Dvorak: 2 Piano Quartets; Piano Quintet; Bagatelles

Average customer rating:

Admirable and historical performances!
The standard by which other recordings should be judged

Dvorak: 2 Piano Quartets; Piano Quintet; Bagatelles

Manufacturer: Sony
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Quartets | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

Quintets | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

Classical Music | The Sony BMG Masterworks Store | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music
ASIN: B0000026YR
Release Date: 1991-01-14

Tracks:

Piano Quartet no.1 in D Major, Op.23: Piano quartet no.1 in D Major, Op.23: Allegro moderato
Piano Quartet no.1 in D Major, Op.23: Piano quartet no.1 in D Major, Op.23: Andantino (Thema con variazioni)
Piano Quartet no.1 in D Major, Op.23: Piano Quartet no.1 in D Major, Op.23: Allegretto scherzando
Piano Quartet No.2 in E Flat Major, Op.87: Piano Quartet No.2 in E Flat Major, Op.87: Allegro con fuoco
Piano Quartet No.2 in E Flat Major, Op.87: Piano Quartet No.2 in E Flat Major, Op.87: Lento
Piano Quartet No.2 in E Flat Major, Op.87: Piano Quartet No.2 in E Flat Major, Op.87: Allegro moderato
Piano Quartet No.2 in E Flat Major, Op.87: Piano Quartet No.2 in E Flat Major, Op.87: Allegro ma non troppo

Tracks:

Piano Quintet In A Major, Op.81: Piano Quintet in A Major, Op.81: Allegro ma non tanto
Piano Quintet In A Major, Op.81: Piano Quintet in A Major, Op.81: Dumka: Andante con moto
Piano Quintet In A Major, Op.81: Piano Quintet in A Major, Op.81: Scherzo - Furiant: Molto vivace
Piano Quintet In A Major, Op.81: Piano Quintet in A Major, Op.81: Finale. Allegro
Bagatelles, Op.47: Bagatelles, Op.47: Allegretto scherzando
Bagatelles, Op.47: Bagatelles, Op.47: Tempo di menuetto (Grazioso)
Bagatelles, Op.47: Bagatelles, Op.47: Allegretto scherzando
Bagatelles, Op.47: Bagatelles, Op.47: Canon: Andante con moto
Bagatelles, Op.47: Bagatelles, Op.47: Poco allegro

Customer Reviews:

Admirable and historical performances!.......2006-04-16

These exquisite chamber works acquire notorious relevance in hands of this ensemble. Julliard Quartet is widely known around the world, and the presence of Rudolf Firkusny as one of the most important Czech pianists of his generation produced a such fortunate combination, that even the elapsed years have not parallel. Perhaps the only version you can equal in which imaginative flight would be the famous recording of Richter and the Borodin Quartet. I just have both recordings and believe me when I tell you that the same Rubinstein with the Guarnieri quartet can reach such level of majestic brightness.

This is a true file' s treasure.

The standard by which other recordings should be judged.......2005-07-11

It amazes me that nobody has reviewed this collection. The Juilliard originally recorded these pieces with Firkusny in the late 1970's, and CBS repackaged them in 1989. I don't believe they have ever been out of print, and for a good reason. If you can find a better rendition of these chamber works, be my guest.

I find the recording of the Piano Quintet to be especially moving, and have never heard another recording that begins to approach the Juilliard/Firkusny interpretation. Also, if you are unfamiliar with the utterly charming Bagatelles, I enthusiastically recommend them. You will never grow tired of these wonderful little pieces.

Really, this should be an essential part of any serious collector's classical collection.

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