Search - Anton Webern, Artis Quartett Wien :: Webern: Complete Works for String Quartet and String Trio

Most Warmly Recommended

04/09/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This disk presents in chronological order all of Webern's works for string quartet and string trio. The listener is treated to a delicious odyssey that commences with the achingly romantic (not to mention tonal) Langsamer Satz of 1905 and terminates with the atonal Opus 28 of 1937/38. The gradual elimination of tonality as the composer assimilates more and more of Schoenberg's influence while simultaneously developing his own style is fascinating, the more so for having such competent performers as our guides. Vienna's Artis Quartett not only thoroughly understand this music, they play it AS music. As a result, these performances do not come across as abstract, cognoscenti-specific musings--anyone can assimilate these pieces.
I was delighted to discover in the extremely informative liner notes that the Artis are former students of my beloved Lasalle Quartet, who, for my money, still represent the standard by which most other performances in this repertoire are judged. Their students do them proud and deserve a place in your collection if this music is important to you. The disk is very well recorded with excellent sonics and serves admirably as a moderately-priced alternative to the Lasalle box for those seeking an introduction to this music."