Beethoven: String Quartets Op. 135; Op. 18, No. 2; Op. 18, No. 6 / Petersen Quartett

Track Listings
1. Str Qt in B flat, Op.18 No.6: 1. Allegro Con Brio    
2. Str Qt in B flat, Op.18 No.6: 2. Adagio, Ma Non Troppo    
3. Str Qt in B flat, Op.18 No.6: 3. Scherzo E Trio. Allegro    
4. Str Qt in B flat, Op.18 No.6: 4. Malinconia. Adagio - Allegretto Quasi Allegro    
5. Str Qt in G, Op.18 No.2: 1. Allegro    
6. Str Qt in G, Op.18 No.2: 2. Adagio Cantabile - Allegro    
7. Str Qt in G, Op.18 No.2: 3. Scherzo E Trio. Allegro    
8. Str Qt in G, Op.18 No.2: 4. Allegro Molto, Quasi Presto    
9. Str Qt in F, Op.135: 1. Allegretto    
10. Str Qt in F, Op.135: 2. Vivace    
11. Str Qt in F, Op.135: 3. Lento Assai, Cantante E Tranquillo    
12. Str Qt in F, Op.135: 4. Grave, Ma Non Troppo Tratto - Adagio - Allegro    

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Without a gust of high-profile publicity, the Berlin-based Petersen Quartett (founded in 1979) has been steadily making its traversal of the complete Beethoven string quartets on the Capriccio label. Don't be fooled by the discount price: not only are their interpretations first-rate, but the Petersen Quartett is shaping a Beethoven cycle that may well set a new standard as the most consistently vital and engaging among recent forays on disc. The Petersens have found their own rare formula to make the quartet chemistry work--with technical brilliance, nuance, and unpredictability--in music we can never know too well: that delicate balance of ensemble unanimity and precision against distinct personalities (Friedemann Weigle's viola, to take one example, can be playful or achingly eloquent, but never as a mannered distraction).

This is the Petersens' fourth installment in their Capriccio cycle; as with their series debut, the ensemble has been programming the early Op. 18 quartets alongside the late masterpieces. It's a way to liberate listeners from the bias of chronological focus and subverts the tired "early-middle-late" paradigm. Instead, we experience Beethoven's quartets as a seamless odyssey of experiment as well as introspection throughout his creative life, and indeed the Petersens' way with the two Op. 18 quartets is especially rewarding. The approach of these players--like Beethoven himself--can't be easily pigeonholed: there's wit, warmth, romantic brooding (in the strange "melancholy" introduction to the finale of No. 6), freaky humor, a kind of madcap energy, and prayerful simplicity. The players' rich musicality will instantly distract you from their astonishing technical feats, and there's never the sense of rehearsed lines. To top it off, the sound is finely balanced and enveloping. Collectors shouldn't miss this; first-timers can very happily start their journey here. --Thomas May

Beethoven: String Quartets Op. 135; Op. 18, No. 2; Op. 18, No. 6 / Petersen Quartett, Music, Ludwig van Beethoven, Chamber, Chamber Music & Recitals, Classical, Classical Composers, Classical Music, Quartet for Four String Instruments
Beethoven: String Quartets Op. 135; Op. 18, No. 2; Op. 18, No. 6 / Petersen Quartett
Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
  • Achingly beautiful Beethoven
 Beethoven: String Quartets Op. 135; Op. 18, No. 2; Op. 18, No. 6 / Petersen Quartett
Petersen Quartett
Manufacturer: Capriccio
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Similar Items:
  1. Beethoven: String Quartet, Op. 130 & Grosse Fuge
  2. Beethoven String Quartets Op. 18/1, 131 / Petersen Quartet

ASIN: B00004YSG3
Release Date: 2001-01-09

Tracks:

  1. Str Qt in B flat, Op.18 No.6: 1. Allegro Con Brio
  2. Str Qt in B flat, Op.18 No.6: 2. Adagio, Ma Non Troppo
  3. Str Qt in B flat, Op.18 No.6: 3. Scherzo E Trio. Allegro
  4. Str Qt in B flat, Op.18 No.6: 4. Malinconia. Adagio - Allegretto Quasi Allegro
  5. Str Qt in G, Op.18 No.2: 1. Allegro
  6. Str Qt in G, Op.18 No.2: 2. Adagio Cantabile - Allegro
  7. Str Qt in G, Op.18 No.2: 3. Scherzo E Trio. Allegro
  8. Str Qt in G, Op.18 No.2: 4. Allegro Molto, Quasi Presto
  9. Str Qt in F, Op.135: 1. Allegretto
  10. Str Qt in F, Op.135: 2. Vivace
  11. Str Qt in F, Op.135: 3. Lento Assai, Cantante E Tranquillo
  12. Str Qt in F, Op.135: 4. Grave, Ma Non Troppo Tratto - Adagio - Allegro

Amazon.com

Without a gust of high-profile publicity, the Berlin-based Petersen Quartett (founded in 1979) has been steadily making its traversal of the complete Beethoven string quartets on the Capriccio label. Don't be fooled by the discount price: not only are their interpretations first-rate, but the Petersen Quartett is shaping a Beethoven cycle that may well set a new standard as the most consistently vital and engaging among recent forays on disc. The Petersens have found their own rare formula to make the quartet chemistry work--with technical brilliance, nuance, and unpredictability--in music we can never know too well: that delicate balance of ensemble unanimity and precision against distinct personalities (Friedemann Weigle's viola, to take one example, can be playful or achingly eloquent, but never as a mannered distraction).

This is the Petersens' fourth installment in their Capriccio cycle; as with their series debut, the ensemble has been programming the early Op. 18 quartets alongside the late masterpieces. It's a way to liberate listeners from the bias of chronological focus and subverts the tired "early-middle-late" paradigm. Instead, we experience Beethoven's quartets as a seamless odyssey of experiment as well as introspection throughout his creative life, and indeed the Petersens' way with the two Op. 18 quartets is especially rewarding. The approach of these players--like Beethoven himself--can't be easily pigeonholed: there's wit, warmth, romantic brooding (in the strange "melancholy" introduction to the finale of No. 6), freaky humor, a kind of madcap energy, and prayerful simplicity. The players' rich musicality will instantly distract you from their astonishing technical feats, and there's never the sense of rehearsed lines. To top it off, the sound is finely balanced and enveloping. Collectors shouldn't miss this; first-timers can very happily start their journey here. --Thomas May

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars Achingly beautiful Beethoven.......2005-10-01

Kudos to Thomas May for his perceptive review above. What more can a poor piano player such as I add? Folks, I've listened through a lot of Beethoven recordings, including complete traversals of the quartets by L'Italiano, Amadeus, Emerson, Talich, Bartok and Takacs, and late cycles by the Hollywood and LaSalle ensembles. Many of those are worth collecting and listening through. As noted by Mr. May, one can never know these works too well. Still, the playing here by the Petersen Quartett is on a whole nother level. Beethoven had an uncanny ability to write human utterance into his instrumental works, and I think that's what sets these records off from the pack: the ability to really bring out the voices, like you are indeed sitting and listening to a roundtable discussion between four individuals. Please try at least one of these discs. As with Annie Fischer in the sonatas, they really are something special.

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