This is One of Those Performances Though Great You'd Never Expect to Come Out on CD (And in the States Didn't Since Dg Didn't Want Another Version to Compete with the Other One Already on their Label by the Emerson Quartet... more »- who Incidentally Are Dull as Dish Water Compared to These Guys). From the Opening Measure of the First Quartet One Becomes Immediately Aware that this Group Literally and Figuratively Has this Music in their Blood. Those who Love These Works Or Bartok in General Are Strongly Encouraged to Consider this Idiomatically Incomparable, Stylish, and Truly Important Set.« less
This is One of Those Performances Though Great You'd Never Expect to Come Out on CD (And in the States Didn't Since Dg Didn't Want Another Version to Compete with the Other One Already on their Label by the Emerson Quartet- who Incidentally Are Dull as Dish Water Compared to These Guys). From the Opening Measure of the First Quartet One Becomes Immediately Aware that this Group Literally and Figuratively Has this Music in their Blood. Those who Love These Works Or Bartok in General Are Strongly Encouraged to Consider this Idiomatically Incomparable, Stylish, and Truly Important Set.
CD Reviews
Don't Neglect this performance
Jeffrey Danowitz | Ramat Aviv, Tel Aviv Israel | 10/04/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"For years I had the Novak recording of this set of quartets and found the quartets sort of lifeless and rarely listened to them. I set out to find a recording that would bring these quartets to life.
I listened to the Emerson Quartet performance. Techniquely it is outstanding but it really sounds rushed and is almost too classical -- lacking some of the folk "sound" that Bartok likes to put into his music -- which can be found in these quartets.
This Hugarian String Quartet recording has the balance between technical accuracy and Hugarian folksong understanding. It is thrilling and will make your heart beat fast. The sound is great and the tempi are just right -- never pushed, but never lacking energy. This is not at all a boring performance. This performance will open your eyes as to why these quartets are so spectacular.
While this is a performance in the early 60's, the sound is rich and at least as good as the more recent performances.
I read the Penquin review of the quartets. They question why this set is considered a Legendary Recording by DGG. I am not sure what the motivations were for discounting this recording, and I cannot agree with the Penguin review on this disc.
I think that this Original Legendary Recording should not be neglected. It is a powerful and moving listening experience. I am actually surprised that it is not an Amazon Essential Recording.
Go for it."
Inspired! My favorite recording of Bartok's Quartets
Glen K. Peterson | 06/04/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"The Hungarian quartet plays each note as though they are improvising. This recording is crystal clear and the performance is positively inspiring. They do take some very minor liberties, occasionally substituting pizz for arco or vice-versa. This in no way diminishes the strength of these recordings, but it is interesting to note.
I own the Emerson Quartet's recording and the 1950's Juilliard Recording, and have heard the Juilliard perform the 5th quartet live in 2005. The Emerson is ferocious in the fast sections, but seems somewhat lifeless in the slow movements. The Juilliard plays the slow sections beautifully, but the faster sections sound mechanical. Both recordings are 100% accurate to the score. But every time I want to hear these pieces, I play the Hungarian version, whether following the score or not.
Other versions of note:
- I once heard some of the fabled 1960's Juilliard String Quartet recording (not available on CD). It was wonderful, but that was too long ago for me to be able to compare it to this recording.
- I have it from a very reliable source that the Vegh Quartet version Bartok: Complete String Quartets is excellent, but I've never heard it."
Beautiful recording!
Schuyler M. Hupp | 03/08/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This rendition of Bartok is a wonderful performance and I would add that the recording quality is superlative. One of the reasons I enjoy strings is their tonal quality or timbre, and this recording excels in that regard; really gorgeous sounding instruments, great recording technique, and a soulful display of fine musicianship. Stylistically, it's a slower interpretation than I had expected, having become acquainted with the Emerson version before this one. I find myself in awe of the beauty of the tone and sonorities and the genuine emotion conveyed in this work. ;-)"
A new opportunity to listen to a live historic performance !
Flavio Oliveira | Eestância Velha, Brazil | 08/21/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This historic performance gives musicians and music lovers a most valuable reference of Bártok's chamber music interpretation. Knowledge of tradition is very important to music intepreters and composers. This special performance of Ungarian String Quartet should be utterly enjoyed by both musicians and music lovers. It can be regarded as a live historic interpretation since Szekely, Kuttner, Kormazy and Magyar were contemporary to Béla Bártok and very close to his art of composition and performance. I listened to this Ungarisches Streichquartett "Lps" of Bartok's 6 String Quartets when I was still a student, back in 1963. Its six 33-rpm DGG black vinil records remain in my private library and I still listen to them with students and colleagues. These 2 (original-image bit-processing) CDs will help people go deeper into the study of the 6 Bártok String Quartets and the music performance for string quartets.Congratulations to DGG for this precious "2 CDs Album" which gives both music lovers and experts a new opportunity to listen to this marvellous work."
Track Listings (6) - Disc #1