Got favorite STRING QUARTETS ? ?

BlueFox said:
I'm not sure exactly how I became so involved with chamber music, string quartets. While I have always been a music fan, when younger it was exclusively rock and roll. In that genre, I am a guitar fan, and love songs with great guitar solos (Freebird for example). At some point I added some classical titles (Holst, The Planets, Mozart, etc.) and occasionally listened to it.

Back around 2007 I started building what would evolve into my current stereo. I also had a job (write software) where I would sometimes work from home. I found that having classical music, with no lyrics, in the background seemed to have a beneficial effect on my thinking. Since I have been partial to string instruments, I started buying more CDs with violins, violas, cellos, and no singing. I do have some symphonies, but I really do not care for the bombastic noise of horns and drums.

Anyway, on some other forum, somebody recommended the Fitzwilliam Quartet collection of Shostakovich's string quartets, and I bought it. I immediately fell in love with it, and started buying every string quartet, chamber music, etc. I could find on Amazon. I just did a rough count, and I have about 150 CDs waiting to be played to determine if they are worthy enough to be ripped to the music server. I probably have already ripped 500 CDs to it in the classical folder.

Anyway, the music server is now on random shuffle and a Bax SQ just finished, and Lillian Fuchs is now playing.
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Bud, great to know you have such a versatile taste in music. I would think your S5's are VERY well suited to stringed instruments. When I auditioned them, that's what I listened to the most (even though I listen to almost everything including bombastic rock). I have to get off my rear end and go listen to the S5's again. It's been over 6 months and I can't stop thinking about them.
 
BlueFox said:
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Anyway, on some other forum, somebody recommended the Fitzwilliam Quartet collection of Shostakovich's string quartets, and I bought it. I immediately fell in love with it, and started buying every string quartet, chamber music, etc. I could find on Amazon. I just did a rough count, and I have about 150 CDs waiting to be played to determine if they are worthy enough to be ripped to the music server. I probably have already ripped 500 CDs to it in the classical folder.

Anyway, the music server is now on random shuffle and a Bax SQ just finished, and Lillian Fuchs is now playing.
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Shostakovich's quartets are among the most highly regarded of all time. They are my favorites along with Beethoven's.

If you like Arnold Bax' quartets, try some by other English composers, viz. William Alwyn, Malcolm Arnold, Arthur Bliss, Frank Bridge, Benjamin Britten, John Ireland, E.J. Moeran, Michael Tippett, and William Walton.
 
NorthStar said:
Don't you just love it! Some of us music and movie collections are so large that we repurchase the same titles occasionally!
I'm not talking about newer and better remastered ones; that too we keep buying, but about the exact same replications!
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I can't tell you how many times that has happened.

Thank goodness Amazon always send a return label with their deliveries.

I really need to check my library before I click "complete your purchase!"
 
BlueFox said:
Currently listening to Morton Feldman's 78 minute string quartet. I wonder how hard that is on the musicians?
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I'll take that as a suggestion. I haven't listened to it in a while but it's well worth the time. Nor is the style as daunting a listen as many might suppose.

I believe that Feldman wrote a String Quartet No. 2 that spans four (4) CDs. :weird: I don't have copy of that, though.

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That is a very informative list. Thank you so much for posting.
No. 1, 2, 9 , and 11, I do not know. Any preferences regarding your favorite version ?
Feanor said:
OK, the string quartet is a sub-genre of classical music: does that make my question esoteric? I think we have already established that high-end system owners, (not that I'm one of those), DO NOT particularly gravitate to classical. Much less so, no doubt, to the string quartet, but it happens to be one that I listen to more than any other single classical form.

For those who care, "invention" of the string quartet is attributed to the great Classical Era composer, Franz Joseph Haydn. Those who care probably already know that a string quartet is comprised of two violins (1st & 2nd), one viola, and one cello. Any other combo isn't a string quartet although there are a smattering of 20th century SQ's that include a additional vocal part.

Enough background already. I'm always glad to get recommendations for string quartets that I might not have heard, or might not have paid sufficient attention to heretofore.

The following are 20 of my favorite quartets, (by no means an exhaustive list but a few that come readily to mind); I hope those "in the know" will recognize a fair diversity of eras and styles here:

  1. William Alwyn: No. 3
  2. Malcolm Arnold: No. 2
  3. Béla Bartók: No. 4
  4. Ludwig van Beethoven: C-sharp minor, Op.131
  5. Alban Berg: Lyric Suite for String Quartet
  6. Alexander Borodin: No. 2
  7. Benjamin Britten: No. 3, Op.94
  8. Elliott Carter: No. 1
  9. George Crumb: "Black Angels"; (opps! the main emsemble is a string quartet but there are other sound producers).
  10. Claude Debussy: Op.10 in G
  11. Henri Dutilleux: "Ainsi la nuit"
  12. Antonín Dvorák: No. 12, Op.96, "American"
  13. Franz Joseph Haydn: D major "Largo", Op.76/5, H.3/79
  14. Leoš Janácek: No. 1 "Kreutzer Sonata"
  15. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: C major, K.465 "Dissonance"
  16. Maurice Ravel: in F
  17. Arnold Schoenberg: No. 4, Op.37
  18. Franz Schubert: No. 14 in D "Death and Maiden"
  19. Dmitri Shostakovich: No. 8
  20. Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky: No. 3 in E flat minor, Op.30

I could just as easily have included a different Bartok, Beethoven, Janacek, or Shostakovich than the particular one listed.
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A.S. said:
That is a very informative list. Thank you so much for posting.
No. 1, 2, 9 , and 11, I do not know. Any preferences regarding your favorite version ?
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I'm not saying they are necessarily the greatest versions, but I have them and like them ...

No. 1, Alwyn, and No. 2 Arnold, I suggest the Maginni Quartet on Naxos

For No. 9, Crumb, I'd say the Kronos Quartet on Elecktra Nonesuch.

For No. 11, Dutilleux, you could go with the Belcea Quartet version on EMI.
 
I can't narrow it down to individual works, but I love Beethoven's middle and late Quartets, plus those by Brahms, Bartok, and Shostakovich. When I'm in a mellower mood, I enjoy Mozart's and Haydn's.
 
Bachtoven said:
I can't narrow it down to individual works, but I love Beethoven's middle and late Quartets, plus those by Brahms, Bartok, and Shostakovich. When I'm in a mellower mood, I enjoy Mozart's and Haydn's.
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All good. Though I'll admit I'm still working on my Brahms appreciation in general -- I'll get there yet.

All of Beethoven's quartets are great which makes choosing a single one as "favorite" very difficult indeed. The same is pretty much true for Shostakovich's SQs.
 
So many string quartets, so little time ... I don't think I've every heard these Hindemith quartets before today. They were very enjoyable, especially maybe No. 6. Right now though, I don't think any are destined to displace my aforementioned favorites.

Paul Hindemith: String Quartets No. 1, No. 2, No. 6 ~ Kocian Quartet

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I did some listening to SQs from two composer who could scarcely be more different in style from each other, yet both are well worth our listening.

Juan Crisóstomo Arriaga: String Quartets Nos. 1 - 3 ~ Cuarteto Casals

Elliot Carter: String Quartet No. 2 ~ Belcea Quartet

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In the last couple of weeks I've indulged in some less often listened to string quartets. Very enjoyable overall and I encourage people to seek out stuff they haven't listened to before or very often as the case may be.

Juan Crisóstomo Arriaga: String Quartet No. 3 in E flat major ~ Cuarteto Casals

George Enescu: String Quartets Nos. 1 & 2, Op.22 ~ Ad Libitum Quartet

William Alwyn: String Quartet No. 2 "Spring Waters" ~ Maggini Quartet

Lennox Berkeley: String Quartet No. 2, Op.15 ~ Chilingirian Quartet

Michael Berkeley: "Abstract Mirror"; "Magnetic Field" ~ Chilingirian Quartet

Pascal Dusapin: String Quartet No. 3 ~ Arditti String Quartet

Conlon Nancarrow: String Quartet No. 3 ~ Arditti String Quartet

Brian Feryneyhough: String Quartet No. 4 ~ Arditti String Quartet

Elliott Carter: String Quartet No. 2 ~ Composers Quartet

Alban Berg: String Quartet Op.3 ~ Leipziger Streichquartett

Michael Tippett: String Quartet No. 3 ~ The Lindsays

Morton Feldman: "Structures" for string quartet ~ Concord String Quartet
 
Thanks for this very interesting thread. I didn't see the six great Mozart "Haydn" quartets which he wrote in tribute to Haydn after he heard the Haydn Op33, previously mentioned on the thread. In college, many years ago, as a senior, I took two semester long appreciation courses - the first was on Haydn and Mozart String quartets and the second was on Beethoven chamber music - neither designed for music majors. It really enhanced my appreciation for the string quartet. Earlier in my life, my first set of Mozart and Beethoven quartets were with Quartetto Italiano and the Amadeus Quartet, both of which no longer exist.

I get to hear a lot of classical music concerts each year, and quite a few are string quartets or quintets with a string quartet plus one. I find there is nothing like a live performance to actually see then interplay of the players and the instruments. Sometimes where you think it is the first violin, it actually is the second violin playing, etc. We are fortunate to hear some very fine local quartets (like the Alexander and Ives) in the Bay Area, as well as frequent visitors - like the Takacs Quartet with our friend Geri Walther who plays viola, and the St. Lawrence SQ which is coming on Sunday. Also our annual month in London gets us a chance to hear many fine quartets at Wigmore, and occasionally at Queen Elizabeth Hall. I heard the Emerson a couple of years ago there. During the past two years, the Takacs played the Britten quartets and Janacek quartets, among other selections.

I would suggest expanding the list to include string quartets +1, like the divine Mozart Clarinet Quintet (which we heard last Thursday played by our local Farallon Quintet which specializes in clarinet quintets!). We heard the Takacs Quartet with pianist Marc Andre Hamelin, playing the Franck Piano Quintet, and another group playing the Dvorak American Quintet (Op97 - right after his wonderful American Quartet) with double bass. Maybe my favorite is the Schubert Quintet with a second cello. The Schubert Trout doesn't qualify since it only has one violin, with piano and double bass making the other instruments. Lastly are the two great Brahms quintets - the piano quintet and the clarinet quintet. I was fortunate to hear the Budapest String Quartet play the Brahms Piano Quintet in Boston with 16 year old Peter Serkin in the mid '60's. The Budapest members were all of Medicare age, before there was Medicare.

Finally, if you interested in the 15 Shostakovich String Quartets (I have the Fitzwilliam and Borodin Q versions) there is the great Beethoven Quartet, a Russian group who premiered quartets 2 through 14 and to whom many of the quartets were dedicated. Unfortunately, I don't have any of their recordings, but I think they are available.

Larry
 
I think the Fitzwilliam set is the current standard for modern recordings. My friend John Dunkerley did the engineering on the vast majority of the recordings in the mid to late '70's. When I see him next, I will try to remember to ask him about any incidents or other memorable events that occurred during those recordings. They were first released on individual LP's on the Decca owned L'Oiseau Lyre label.

Larry
 
Odyssey said:
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My favorite version of his string quartets. I know the 8th is the most popular in the west. But I enjoy his earlier string quartets as much.
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I have the Fitzwilliam versions too, and they are definitely among my favorites.

The 8th is great but I wouldn't say it is my favorite -- I'm not sure which that would be. The 8th is popular, I'd guess, partly because it has so many quotes from his other works.
 
astrotoy said:
Thanks for this very interesting thread. I didn't see the six great Mozart "Haydn" quartets which he wrote in tribute to Haydn after he heard the Haydn Op33, previously mentioned on the thread. In college, many years ago, as a senior, I took two semester long appreciation courses - the first was on Haydn and Mozart String quartets and the second was on Beethoven chamber music - neither designed for music majors. It really enhanced my appreciation for the string quartet. Earlier in my life, my first set of Mozart and Beethoven quartets were with Quartetto Italiano and the Amadeus Quartet, both of which no longer exist.
...

I would suggest expanding the list to include string quartets +1, like the divine Mozart Clarinet Quintet (which we heard last Thursday played by our local Farallon Quintet which specializes in clarinet quintets!). We heard the Takacs Quartet with pianist Marc Andre Hamelin, playing the Franck Piano Quintet, and another group playing the Dvorak American Quintet (Op97 - right after his wonderful American Quartet) with double bass. Maybe my favorite is the Schubert Quintet with a second cello. The Schubert Trout doesn't qualify since it only has one violin, with piano and double bass making the other instruments. Lastly are the two great Brahms quintets - the piano quintet and the clarinet quintet. I was fortunate to hear the Budapest String Quartet play the Brahms Piano Quintet in Boston with 16 year old Peter Serkin in the mid '60's. The Budapest members were all of Medicare age, before there was Medicare.
...

Larry
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There is no doubt about the excellence of Mozart's "Haydn" quartets. I'll have to check which version or versions I have.

Likewise there's not doubt about the huge repertoire of SQ + One quintets. My own preference would be to keep this thread "pure" with only string quartets -- permitting only the occasional SQ + voice exception, e.g. Schoenberg's No. 2.
 
The Alban Berg string 4tet playing Schubert is one of the Sound Tracks of my happy youth, and therefore theirs will always be one of my favorite versions.
 
I fancy the Vegh "Bartok" on Valois and Quartetto Italiano's "Beethoven" on Phillips. Great performances with stunning sonics.
 
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