Search - Beethoven, Vermeer Quartet :: String Quartets 1-16

Great performances; great price

daniel0302 | New York, NY United States | 09/21/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The Vermeer Quartet's 9 CD collection is also available as 3 separate volumes of 3 CDs each. This collection is priced about one third less than the combined cost of the three individual albums, making it not just a fine recording, but a great value as well.The Vermeer Quartet is fantastic, and although the competition in these works is formidable, the Vermeer holds its own in comparisons to the others. The early and middle quartets are beautifully played, and the contrasting playful and dramatic moods are well stated. It is with the late quartets that this recording really distances itself from most of the other versions. The late quartets are perhaps the highest level of creativity Beethoven achieved. These unconventional works, when in the hands of less gifted players, often fall flat or leave the listener befuddled. Here, the Vermeer leave the listener in awe, not with their own virtuosity, but with Beethoven's profound genius. If you love Beethoven, and you do not already own another version of these quartets, do not hesitate to purchase this."

Well played but uninvolved

Andrew R. Weiss | Raleigh, NC USA | 06/24/2003

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Boxed sets of Beethoven -- whether symphonies, piano sonatas, or, as here, string quartets -- are a mixed bag. No one artist or group has the capacity to handle all of Beethoven's broad spectrum of expression equally well, so no one artist performs each of the pieces equally well. On the plus side, a truly great artist or group will give us a consistent lens on the pieces, a point of view which illuminates what others miss. The Vermeer are a well-disciplined group with an almost uncanny ability to sound like a single player. They are intelligent musicians, especially strong in conveying the logic and architecture of the piece, and they are meticulous and technically flawless. They have excellent command of dynamic range and tonal shading. And Shmuel Ashkenasy sounds passionate enough. If this were the only complete set of the Beethoven quartets, it would be a superior effort. But there is something missing. For all the apparent passion, there is a detached, uninvolved quality about these performances. Some of this may be the sound: Teldec's recording is detailed, with the requisite wide dynamic range, but it is also tight, airless, and unflattering. Curiously, the recording sounds "flat" at lower volumes and only takes on life with the volume cranked up a bit. But I suspect it is also a problem with the group itself. One problem is that the uniformity of tone works against them, creating a surface sheen that suggest lack of depth. Even the beautifully-proportioned phrasing, especially evident in the late quartets, is sometimes just too beautiful, and lacking that extra, probing quality that gives Beethoven's late works their spiritual power. Given the Vermeer's strength in conveying musical structure, the early quartets ought to be strong, and while they are well-played, there is an almost humorless, dour quality about them. The first Rasumovsky quartet is a big disappointment, as well played as it is, and the slow movement in particular, for all its obvious passionate sound, is unaffecting and seems to lack emotional depth. The other middle quartets are well played, but only op 95 rises to an intensity of emotional expression that got me really involved. Similar problems occur in the late quartets, although these, as a group, the best of the set. Op. 132 starts off well, but the slow movement just doesn't breathe. The Vermeer's penchant for a nearly vibrato-less sound in softer dynamics works well, but the pacing is somewhat wooden and there is no space left between the phrases. The best performances are the op 131, where the Vermeer's understanding of musical structure makes for a beautifully-proportioned reading (although even here, however, the scherzo seems to lack humor and bite); op 130, which is ravishingly played, each phrase beautifully balanced and seamlessly integrated into the musical structure, but, again, just that little bit removed; and op 135, which may be the best performance of them all -- seamless, flowing, and just plain beautiful. Overall, the difficulties the Vermeer have with the Beethoven quartets is one which I frequently associate with Karajan, whose performances can sound extraordinary on first hearing but don't stand up on rehearing because of that emphasis on gorgeous playing and a homogenized sound, no matter what the music requires, and a tendancy to stand a bit aloof. Some may find themselves in harmony with this; I find myself wanting more.If you have heard only these performances, and if you appreciate dedicated and beautiful playing, they would be satisfying. However, there is a whole world of emotional and spiritual depth here that the Vermeer misses, and other performances, particularly by the Talich, Quartetto Italiano, Emerson, Lindsay, and (if you can bear the intonation problems -- I can't) Vegh Quartets, go that extra distance and bring us into Beethoven's spiritual world of music. All in all, a well-played and earnest effort but ultimately a disappointment. You can do better, and, I suspect, so can the Vermeer."