Search - Smetana Quartet :: 50th Anniversary of the Smetana Quartet

Czech it out.

William Mealiffe | Richmond, CA United States | 11/14/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Czech musicians usually play music by Czech composers very well, and these recordings of the Smetana Quartet playing Janacek, Dvorak, Smetana, Suk, Novak and Jaroch quartets are superb. They take up 3 CD's from this 6 CD collection. The 2 Mozart quartets aren't bad, and the 3 Beethoven late quartets (Opus 127, Opus 131, Opus 132) are pretty well played. This collection doesn't have Opus 130 or Opus 135, but it has the best recording of the Grosse Fuge, Opus 133 that I've ever listened to. It's unfortunate that the Smetana Quartet's recording of the Beethoven Quartet Opus 130 which appeared in the 1960's was not included in this set. This was by far the best performance I have ever heard of Opus 130. (The recording of Opus 130 that appeared later on in the 1970's was nowhere near as good.) The Smetana Quartet always played Opus 130 with the original last movement: the Grosse Fuge which Beethoven later packaged separately as Opus 133. And the great consolation here is that the recording of Opus 133 that appears in this CD collection is the recording of the original last movement of Opus 130 that was on the 1960's recording. And it, along with the Dvorak, Smetana, and Janacek quartets are the treasures in this collection."