# Bartok string quartets: Your favorite recording?



## Omicron9

Greetings, fellow Bartokians.

The Bartok string quartets are probably my favorite set of quartets in the history of ever. I have several recordings of the complete set, but am always on the lookout for another. 

What do you have; what do you recommend, and why?

TIA,
-09


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## Kjetil Heggelund

I only have the Emersons, and had it for 25 years. I like it since I "grew up on it" and would recommend it to people interested in Bartok, who is an awesome composer! I don't often compare recordings of chamber music as much as solo repertoir. I'm sure there are several great recordings. What I have "discovered" in stringquartetrecordings is the different reverb. Anything goes (maybe/almost)


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## Quartetfore

There is a set recorded by the Rubin Quartet issued on Brillant Classics a few years ago. While I think that they disbanded the set my be still around. The thing that I like about the is the fact that dig into the music.The sound may be to some tastes dry, but some how it seems to fit the music. It was issued as a low cost recording.


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## realdealblues

My two picks...

Takacs Quartet









Hungarian String Quartet


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## Guest

My first was the very fine one with the Juilliard and is still an outstanding recording.
The Takacs is not my favorite in the Beethoven quartets but in Bartok they are very convincing.
The Alban Berg quartet are playing as always but my first choice is the oldest with The Juilliard quartet.
They recorded it three times,the first is mono and the second one is stereo.The last recording is not as good as the two first recordings (IMO)


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## hpowders

Any of the Juilliard Quartet's recordings.

The Emerson is incredible from a technical standpoint, but just like their complete Beethoven Quartet recordings, I don't hear any emotional involvement.


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## TurnaboutVox

I have the Tokyo Quartet and the Takacs Quartet in nos. 1-6, and the Zehetmair Quartet in #5 (a disc ruined by grotesquely over-reverberant recording, which apparently stems from the choice of venue).

Though the Takacs Quartet's version are very serviceable and enjoyable my clear preference is for the Tokyo Quartet. They are incisive and precise in style. The box set won the Gramophone chamber award in 1981.


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## brahms4

One of my favorite conductors ever is Fritz Reiner.He was a friend of Bartok who had been his teacher.I recall that Reiner was very fond of that first(1949?)recording by the Juilliard Quartet.The Juilliard played the last movement of the 6th quartet at Reiner`s funeral in 1963.


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## Omicron9

My versions:

Emerson
Juiliard ('63 and '81 cycles)
Tackas
Keller
Berg
Vegh
Belcea

I'm not sure I have a favorite. Each performance has its strengths and weaknesses. I think I find myself reaching for the Emerson set more often than others. Maybe it's the most even performance overall for me? Not sure.


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## Omicron9

TurnaboutVox said:


> I have the Tokyo Quartet and the Takacs Quartet in nos. 1-6, and the Zehetmair Quartet in #5 (a disc ruined by grotesquely over-reverberant recording, which apparently stems from the choice of venue).
> 
> Though the Takacs Quartet's version are very serviceable and enjoyable my clear preference is for the Tokyo Quartet. They are incisive and precise in style. The box set won the Gramophone chamber award in 1981.


I know the Tokyo recorded the cycle for RCA Red Seal in the (maybe) early '90s? Is the DG version a different recording? Thanks!


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## chesapeake bay

I have the Vegh quartet which are the one's I liked the best from Emerson, Juiliard ('63 and '81 cycles) Takacs and Belcea


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## TurnaboutVox

Omicron9 said:


> I know the Tokyo recorded the cycle for RCA Red Seal in the (maybe) early '90s? Is the DG version a different recording? Thanks!


The RCA recording seems to be a different one, with different Tokyo Quartet personnel:



> This performance is best characterized by the old joke: "they're playing Bartok, and Bartok is losing." It's not the fault of the core TSQ members, but rather that of [Peter] Oundjian, whose playing I find agressive rather than spirited or assertive. Better to save your money for the (also OOP) *first* TSQ recording which was released, for about fifteen minutes, by Deutsche Grammophon in the early 1990s.
> 
> Amazon reviewer


The DG recordings were made in 1981 and re-released on CD in 1997. Briefly, apparently.


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## lextune

I have the Emerson, Takacs, and Berg sets. I too would like to get to know more, (love Bartok dearly).

Of the three sets I have, I rate Takacs first. I do enjoy both other sets too though.


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## Omicron9

TurnaboutVox said:


> The RCA recording seems to be a different one, with different Tokyo Quartet personnel:
> 
> The DG recordings were made in 1981 and re-released on CD in 1997. Briefly, apparently.


Thanks, Turnabout. I'll keep an eye out for the DG version.


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## Dirge

I flirt with every recording of the Bartók quartets that I can get my hands on, but I always end up returning home to the Tokyo Quartet's complete set on DG ('75-'80)-not to be confused with the group's later set on RCA ('93-'95). What keeps me coming back to the Tokyo set is the group's faithful but flexible/tautly resilient approach to these works and the engaging sense of inner dialog/debate and ebb & flow that results. This is achieved through playing that is as nimble and responsive as it is precise and incisive-no mean trick, especially in such highly wrought integral structures as these-and also through masterful maintenance of tension throughout (which is of great importance to me in any music, especially in Bartók). Listeners who want their Bartók to have an earthy/folk-y character and a Hungarian accent will be disappointed, however, as the Tokyo Quartet takes as cosmopolitan an approach to these works as one will encounter. The group is wholly attuned to the last four quartets, where Bartók has fully subsumed folk and other influences into a modern language all his own, but the group fares nearly as well in the eclectic and as yet unsettled language of the Janus-like First, where Bartók looks back to the late Romantic past (Wagner, Strauss, etc.) even as he looks forward to an uncertain future. The dramatic/tragic Second Quartet strikes me as the road not taken in Bartók's musical journey, and I've always had a special liking for it; if the Tokyo Quartet isn't as urgent as it might be in the first and second movements, the group generates and maintains tension so well and otherwise plays so well that it succeeds even so. My only quibble about the group's playing per se is that the first violinist tends to be slightly too prominent, both musically and in terms of instrumental balance, his vibrato a tad cloying at times.

My favorite alternatives/supplements include …

:: Juilliard Quartet [Columbia '49] ~ I'm a sucker for the kind of intensely earnest playing that marks these performances, with structural concerns trumping aesthetic ones (not that they're necessarily at odds), so this set starts off on the right foot from my perspective. That said, I'd have thought that the young Juilliard Quartet's hard-won, highly wrought playing would be ill-suited to the compressed intricacy of the Third Quartet, but I find the performance confoundingly engaging; I'm especially impressed by the very high level of tension that the group is able to generate and maintain throughout. While the performance of the Third Quartet is the highlight of the set for me, I'm content with the rest of the performances as well. Sony France made excellent transfers of quartets 3, 4 & 5, which it released on a "grand répertoire" disc, but it hasn't seen fit to transfer/release the rest so far as I know. Pearl, West Hill Radio Archives, and Pristine Classics have transferred/released the complete set.

:: Végh Quartet [Columbia/Angel '54] ~ The Végh Quartet may not win any awards for technical proficiency, but it's tough to beat for phrasing and characterization. Whether it's the Hungarian thing or not, the Végh's phrasing sounds as natural to Bartók as I've heard, and characterization is strong and believable without exaggeration (of the kind that afflicts the group's 1972 recording for Astrée). I'm not sure that the playing here is any more precise and accurate than it is in 1972 (the difference in sound quality makes it hard to judge), but focus and concentration is better, which allows them to generate and maintain a higher level of tension. For me, the playing is more than good enough given the quality of the interpretations, but listeners with other priorities may not be so tolerant. The set has been transferred/released in mono by Music & Arts and Naxos Historical Archives (download only), but I know of no licensed release from the original mono tapes. Praga has recently issued the set in stereo from what it claims are original (experimental?) studio stereo tapes. I've read a few reviews of the release, but none helpfully address the quality of the recorded sound.

:: Juilliard Quartet [CBS '63] ~ This, the third incarnation of the Juilliard Quartet (it features a different cellist and second violinist than the original incarnation), is the ultimate representative of the military-industrial complex that President Eisenhower warned us about, and its rightly famous 1963 set sets the standard for rigor, precision, trenchancy, and single-mindedness. The group essentially takes relatively straightforward but scrupulously planned interpretations and executes the living bejesus out of them. The inner dialog/debate of the Tokyo Quartet is here replaced by inner voices in complete lockstep. It's all very calculated and premeditated, but it's carried out with such cold-blooded veracity and efficiency-accentuated/exacerbated by the close, dry, clinical recorded sound-that you can't not listen to it. Warmth? Charm? Cuddliness? None, none, and not much. I admire more than enjoy this set, but it deserves mention for its uncompromising ethic and trenchant commitment to the cause.

:: Tátrai Quartet [Hungaroton '66] ~ The Tátrai Quartet offers exceptionally sinewy playing of great linear continuity and lyrical intensity, and all four players produce a distinctive silvery tone that is quite appealing. The sinewy/linear playing comes at a cost to incisiveness and rhythmic edge, though that cost is amazingly small, and maintaining the silvery tone comes at a cost to tonal variety, but these are performances to be reckoned with. Phrasing and characterization are quite idiomatic and "Hungarian" in their way, but they're less varied and multifaceted than they might be as a result of being tailored to fit the Tátrai sinewy/linear/lyrical sound mold. It's a unique and fascinating alternative set, with excellent mid-'60s analog sound, but it's perhaps too stylized for a general recommendation.

:: Zehetmair Quartett ~ No. 4 [ECM '99] & No. 5 [ECM '06] ~ The Zehetmair Quartett handles the technical demands of the Fourth Quartet with aplomb and plays with great flexibility and independence of parts while employing a very wide dynamic range; indeed, I'm inclined to say that they play too dynamically and with too much flexibility and independence, but it all holds together somehow and makes for a fascinating and exciting listen. The group's later recording of the Fifth Quartet is cut from the same cloth but doesn't hold together quite as well to my ears, and it's undermined by an excessively reverberant acoustic setting. Still, if you like the Zehetmair Quartett's account of the Fourth, you'll definitely want to hear its account of the Fifth-and it's coupled to a great account of Hindemith's String Quartet No. 4, Op. 22.

Interesting non-favorites include …

:: Végh Quartet [Astrée '72] ~ This second Végh Quartet set is often held up as the epitome of folk-y Hungarianism in this music, but I find the playing to be a bit over-characterized at times, sounding almost too Hungarian in the way that Maurice Chevalier acts almost too French. Otherwise, execution is more than good enough to put the group's interpretations across, even if tension is not well managed/maintained and intonation is a bit iffy, especially from Végh himself. If you can tolerate a few flies in your soup, these venerable performances offer a lot of savvy insights and are very easy to like. The tension being not well managed/maintained is the fly that I can't tolerate.

:: Alban Berg Quartett [EMI '83-'86] ~ The ABQ plays in a rich, polished Viennese manner that's not expected in these works, but it plays with such sovereign command that you're compelled to give it a listen, at least for a while-it's especially nice to hear the cellist come across so well. Interpretively, the group seems to consider Bartók a kindred spirit of Alban Berg (think _Lyric Suite_), and it gives his works something of a Second Viennese School treatment. Unfortunately, the group doesn't differentiate among the six decidedly different works as much as it might, and a certain one-size-fits-all feeling creeps into the proceedings when heard in short order. It's not the Bartók of my mind's ear, but it's compellingly played if not idiomatically, or even sympathetically, interpreted. The recorded sound is beautifully balanced and naturally distanced and blended, with less clarity and detail than ideal, but no digital glare.

:: Emerson Quartet [DG '88] ~ Compelling virtuosity in the service of aggressively generic characterization. These performances are as hard to embrace as they are to fault, but I keep the set around just because.

:: Keller Quartet [Erato '93/'94] ~ Everything here is well-executed and idiomatically phrased in a more polished/urbane, less earthy/sitting-around-the-campfire way than you'll find in the Végh Quartet's '72 set, but the playing is noticeably subdued at times, with forcefulness and dynamism dialed back a notch or two or three. This is certainly the result of an overthunk/ill-conceived interpretive decision rather than any lack of energy/ambition on the part of the Keller Quartet, but it tends to suck the life out of what could have been a winning set of performances. As it is, the best playing here only serves to remind you of what's missing from the subdued playing-very frustrating. Curiously, the Hagen Quartett's set on DG ('95/'98) is similarly undermined by bouts of subdued playing.

:: Takács Quartet [Decca '96] ~ The exuberant Takács Quartet gives robust, boldly characterized performances that threaten to burst at the seams. Tone/timbre, individually and collectively, is as rich, full, and colorful as it could be, complementing gregarious phrasing of the most crowd-pleasing idiomatic kind-and it's all captured in exceptionally vivid larger-than-life recorded sound. Indeed, the playing is often suggestive of a small string orchestra, bringing Bartók's _Divertimento_ to mind on occasion. Execution/proficiency is excellent on the whole, but rhythmic delivery isn't as taut as it might be-not surprising given the freedom and flexibility of the playing. Unfortunately, the playing tends to be expressively/emotionally overwrought, with drama verging on melodrama. So while I can well understand the great popularity of this set, for me, an ear-grabbing initial impression eventually gives way to too much of a good thing.

:: Chiara Quartet [Azica '16] ~ This curious new set features playing that is marked by a strong sense of inner dialog within an exceedingly flexible/stretchable framework. Rubber-armed phrasing in cahoots with an eccentric temporal/rhythmic sensibility tends to induce an exaggerated ebb & flow, a sort of pulsing undulation, to the musical flow that might make listeners with delicate constitutions a wee bit woozy. When this ebbing & flowing isn't dominating your attention, the sheer bendiness of the phrasing is. That the group can play this way and manage to hold everything together is impressive in its own right, but the style of play is the focus of my attention no matter how hard I try to get beyond it.


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## wkasimer

TurnaboutVox said:


> The DG recordings were made in 1981 and re-released on CD in 1997. Briefly, apparently.


The TSQ DG recordings have been reissued by Eloquence:

https://www.amazon.com/Bartok-BARTOK-TOKYO-STRING-QUARTET/dp/B00C3MK7PQ

I'm still struggling to make sense out of Bartok.


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## Mandryka

Dirge said:


> I flirt with every recording of the Bartók quartets that I can get my hands on, but I always end up returning home to the Tokyo Quartet's complete set on DG ('75-'80)-not to be confused with the group's later set on RCA ('93-'95). What keeps me coming back to the Tokyo set is the group's faithful but flexible/tautly resilient approach to these works and the engaging sense of inner dialog/debate and ebb & flow that results. This is achieved through playing that is as nimble and responsive as it is precise and incisive-no mean trick, especially in such highly wrought integral structures as these-and also through masterful maintenance of tension throughout (which is of great importance to me in any music, especially in Bartók). Listeners who want their Bartók to have an earthy/folk-y character and a Hungarian accent will be disappointed, however, as the Tokyo Quartet takes as cosmopolitan an approach to these works as one will encounter. The group is wholly attuned to the last four quartets, where Bartók has fully subsumed folk and other influences into a modern language all his own, but the group fares nearly as well in the eclectic and as yet unsettled language of the Janus-like First, where Bartók looks back to the late Romantic past (Wagner, Strauss, etc.) even as he looks forward to an uncertain future. The dramatic/tragic Second Quartet strikes me as the road not taken in Bartók's musical journey, and I've always had a special liking for it; if the Tokyo Quartet isn't as urgent as it might be in the first and second movements, the group generates and maintains tension so well and otherwise plays so well that it succeeds even so. My only quibble about the group's playing per se is that the first violinist tends to be slightly too prominent, both musically and in terms of instrumental balance, his vibrato a tad cloying at times.
> 
> My favorite alternatives/supplements include …
> 
> :: Juilliard Quartet [Columbia '49] ~ I'm a sucker for the kind of intensely earnest playing that marks these performances, with structural concerns trumping aesthetic ones (not that they're necessarily at odds), so this set starts off on the right foot from my perspective. That said, I'd have thought that the young Juilliard Quartet's hard-won, highly wrought playing would be ill-suited to the compressed intricacy of the Third Quartet, but I find the performance confoundingly engaging; I'm especially impressed by the very high level of tension that the group is able to generate and maintain throughout. While the performance of the Third Quartet is the highlight of the set for me, I'm content with the rest of the performances as well. Sony France made excellent transfers of quartets 3, 4 & 5, which it released on a "grand répertoire" disc, but it hasn't seen fit to transfer/release the rest so far as I know. Pearl, West Hill Radio Archives, and Pristine Classics have transferred/released the complete set.
> 
> :: Végh Quartet [Columbia/Angel '54] ~ The Végh Quartet may not win any awards for technical proficiency, but it's tough to beat for phrasing and characterization. Whether it's the Hungarian thing or not, the Végh's phrasing sounds as natural to Bartók as I've heard, and characterization is strong and believable without exaggeration (of the kind that afflicts the group's 1972 recording for Astrée). I'm not sure that the playing here is any more precise and accurate than it is in 1972 (the difference in sound quality makes it hard to judge), but focus and concentration is better, which allows them to generate and maintain a higher level of tension. For me, the playing is more than good enough given the quality of the interpretations, but listeners with other priorities may not be so tolerant. The set has been transferred/released in mono by Music & Arts and Naxos Historical Archives (download only), but I know of no licensed release from the original mono tapes. Praga has recently issued the set in stereo from what it claims are original (experimental?) studio stereo tapes. I've read a few reviews of the release, but none helpfully address the quality of the recorded sound.
> 
> :: Juilliard Quartet [CBS '63] ~ This, the third incarnation of the Juilliard Quartet (it features a different cellist and second violinist than the original incarnation), is the ultimate representative of the military-industrial complex that President Eisenhower warned us about, and its rightly famous 1963 set sets the standard for rigor, precision, trenchancy, and single-mindedness. The group essentially takes relatively straightforward but scrupulously planned interpretations and executes the living bejesus out of them. The inner dialog/debate of the Tokyo Quartet is here replaced by inner voices in complete lockstep. It's all very calculated and premeditated, but it's carried out with such cold-blooded veracity and efficiency-accentuated/exacerbated by the close, dry, clinical recorded sound-that you can't not listen to it. Warmth? Charm? Cuddliness? None, none, and not much. I admire more than enjoy this set, but it deserves mention for its uncompromising ethic and trenchant commitment to the cause.
> 
> :: Tátrai Quartet [Hungaroton '66] ~ The Tátrai Quartet offers exceptionally sinewy playing of great linear continuity and lyrical intensity, and all four players produce a distinctive silvery tone that is quite appealing. The sinewy/linear playing comes at a cost to incisiveness and rhythmic edge, though that cost is amazingly small, and maintaining the silvery tone comes at a cost to tonal variety, but these are performances to be reckoned with. Phrasing and characterization are quite idiomatic and "Hungarian" in their way, but they're less varied and multifaceted than they might be as a result of being tailored to fit the Tátrai sinewy/linear/lyrical sound mold. It's a unique and fascinating alternative set, with excellent mid-'60s analog sound, but it's perhaps too stylized for a general recommendation.
> 
> :: Zehetmair Quartett ~ No. 4 [ECM '99] & No. 5 [ECM '06] ~ The Zehetmair Quartett handles the technical demands of the Fourth Quartet with aplomb and plays with great flexibility and independence of parts while employing a very wide dynamic range; indeed, I'm inclined to say that they play too dynamically and with too much flexibility and independence, but it all holds together somehow and makes for a fascinating and exciting listen. The group's later recording of the Fifth Quartet is cut from the same cloth but doesn't hold together quite as well to my ears, and it's undermined by an excessively reverberant acoustic setting. Still, if you like the Zehetmair Quartett's account of the Fourth, you'll definitely want to hear its account of the Fifth-and it's coupled to a great account of Hindemith's String Quartet No. 4, Op. 22.
> 
> Interesting non-favorites include …
> 
> :: Végh Quartet [Astrée '72] ~ This second Végh Quartet set is often held up as the epitome of folk-y Hungarianism in this music, but I find the playing to be a bit over-characterized at times, sounding almost too Hungarian in the way that Maurice Chevalier acts almost too French. Otherwise, execution is more than good enough to put the group's interpretations across, even if tension is not well managed/maintained and intonation is a bit iffy, especially from Végh himself. If you can tolerate a few flies in your soup, these venerable performances offer a lot of savvy insights and are very easy to like. The tension being not well managed/maintained is the fly that I can't tolerate.
> 
> :: Alban Berg Quartett [EMI '83-'86] ~ The ABQ plays in a rich, polished Viennese manner that's not expected in these works, but it plays with such sovereign command that you're compelled to give it a listen, at least for a while-it's especially nice to hear the cellist come across so well. Interpretively, the group seems to consider Bartók a kindred spirit of Alban Berg (think _Lyric Suite_), and it gives his works something of a Second Viennese School treatment. Unfortunately, the group doesn't differentiate among the six decidedly different works as much as it might, and a certain one-size-fits-all feeling creeps into the proceedings when heard in short order. It's not the Bartók of my mind's ear, but it's compellingly played if not idiomatically, or even sympathetically, interpreted. The recorded sound is beautifully balanced and naturally distanced and blended, with less clarity and detail than ideal, but no digital glare.
> 
> :: Emerson Quartet [DG '88] ~ Compelling virtuosity in the service of aggressively generic characterization. These performances are as hard to embrace as they are to fault, but I keep the set around just because.
> 
> :: Keller Quartet [Erato '93/'94] ~ Everything here is well-executed and idiomatically phrased in a more polished/urbane, less earthy/sitting-around-the-campfire way than you'll find in the Végh Quartet's '72 set, but the playing is noticeably subdued at times, with forcefulness and dynamism dialed back a notch or two or three. This is certainly the result of an overthunk/ill-conceived interpretive decision rather than any lack of energy/ambition on the part of the Keller Quartet, but it tends to suck the life out of what could have been a winning set of performances. As it is, the best playing here only serves to remind you of what's missing from the subdued playing-very frustrating. Curiously, the Hagen Quartett's set on DG ('95/'98) is similarly undermined by bouts of subdued playing.
> 
> :: Takács Quartet [Decca '96] ~ The exuberant Takács Quartet gives robust, boldly characterized performances that threaten to burst at the seams. Tone/timbre, individually and collectively, is as rich, full, and colorful as it could be, complementing gregarious phrasing of the most crowd-pleasing idiomatic kind-and it's all captured in exceptionally vivid larger-than-life recorded sound. Indeed, the playing is often suggestive of a small string orchestra, bringing Bartók's _Divertimento_ to mind on occasion. Execution/proficiency is excellent on the whole, but rhythmic delivery isn't as taut as it might be-not surprising given the freedom and flexibility of the playing. Unfortunately, the playing tends to be expressively/emotionally overwrought, with drama verging on melodrama. So while I can well understand the great popularity of this set, for me, an ear-grabbing initial impression eventually gives way to too much of a good thing.
> 
> :: Chiara Quartet [Azica '16] ~ This curious new set features playing that is marked by a strong sense of inner dialog within an exceedingly flexible/stretchable framework. Rubber-armed phrasing in cahoots with an eccentric temporal/rhythmic sensibility tends to induce an exaggerated ebb & flow, a sort of pulsing undulation, to the musical flow that might make listeners with delicate constitutions a wee bit woozy. When this ebbing & flowing isn't dominating your attention, the sheer bendiness of the phrasing is. That the group can play this way and manage to hold everything together is impressive in its own right, but the style of play is the focus of my attention no matter how hard I try to get beyond it.


I agree that the first Tokyo is full of inner life, at least in Quartets 3 - 6.


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## Star

Emerson Quartet


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## Omicron9

Cool info and responses; thanks, everyone. Truly enjoying this thread.


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## millionrainbows

It's an isolated event, but Kronos does a great version of the Bartok String Quartet No. 3 on their very first CD:


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## FranzS

I have a moody relationship with Bartok's cycle of string quartets si I haven't found a favorite recording yet. The Emerson are good as a first try but they seem to miss the point, the soul of Bartok's music, on the other end the Takacs seem too impetuous, everything I have listened and I have seen mentioned in this thread seems to be midway between these two interpretations, I guess the Takacs sooner or later will conquer my ears since I am convinced that this music is deeply rooted in Hungarian ancestral music so maybe boldness is required to bring it to full life.


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## Mandryka

Dirge said:


> I flirt with every recording of the Bartók quartets that I can get my hands on, but I always end up returning home to the Tokyo Quartet's complete set on DG ('75-'80)-not to be confused with the group's later set on RCA ('93-'95). What keeps me coming back to the Tokyo set is the group's faithful but flexible/tautly resilient approach to these works and the engaging sense of inner dialog/debate and ebb & flow that results. This is achieved through playing that is as nimble and responsive as it is precise and incisive-no mean trick, especially in such highly wrought integral structures as these-and also through masterful maintenance of tension throughout (which is of great importance to me in any music, especially in Bartók). Listeners who want their Bartók to have an earthy/folk-y character and a Hungarian accent will be disappointed, however, as the Tokyo Quartet takes as cosmopolitan an approach to these works as one will encounter. The group is wholly attuned to the last four quartets, where Bartók has fully subsumed folk and other influences into a modern language all his own, but the group fares nearly as well in the eclectic and as yet unsettled language of the Janus-like First, where Bartók looks back to the late Romantic past (Wagner, Strauss, etc.) even as he looks forward to an uncertain future. The dramatic/tragic Second Quartet strikes me as the road not taken in Bartók's musical journey, and I've always had a special liking for it; if the Tokyo Quartet isn't as urgent as it might be in the first and second movements, the group generates and maintains tension so well and otherwise plays so well that it succeeds even so. My only quibble about the group's playing per se is that the first violinist tends to be slightly too prominent, both musically and in terms of instrumental balance, his vibrato a tad cloying at times.
> 
> My favorite alternatives/supplements include …
> 
> :: Juilliard Quartet [Columbia '49] ~ I'm a sucker for the kind of intensely earnest playing that marks these performances, with structural concerns trumping aesthetic ones (not that they're necessarily at odds), so this set starts off on the right foot from my perspective. That said, I'd have thought that the young Juilliard Quartet's hard-won, highly wrought playing would be ill-suited to the compressed intricacy of the Third Quartet, but I find the performance confoundingly engaging; I'm especially impressed by the very high level of tension that the group is able to generate and maintain throughout. While the performance of the Third Quartet is the highlight of the set for me, I'm content with the rest of the performances as well. Sony France made excellent transfers of quartets 3, 4 & 5, which it released on a "grand répertoire" disc, but it hasn't seen fit to transfer/release the rest so far as I know. Pearl, West Hill Radio Archives, and Pristine Classics have transferred/released the complete set.
> 
> :: Végh Quartet [Columbia/Angel '54] ~ The Végh Quartet may not win any awards for technical proficiency, but it's tough to beat for phrasing and characterization. Whether it's the Hungarian thing or not, the Végh's phrasing sounds as natural to Bartók as I've heard, and characterization is strong and believable without exaggeration (of the kind that afflicts the group's 1972 recording for Astrée). I'm not sure that the playing here is any more precise and accurate than it is in 1972 (the difference in sound quality makes it hard to judge), but focus and concentration is better, which allows them to generate and maintain a higher level of tension. For me, the playing is more than good enough given the quality of the interpretations, but listeners with other priorities may not be so tolerant. The set has been transferred/released in mono by Music & Arts and Naxos Historical Archives (download only), but I know of no licensed release from the original mono tapes. Praga has recently issued the set in stereo from what it claims are original (experimental?) studio stereo tapes. I've read a few reviews of the release, but none helpfully address the quality of the recorded sound.
> 
> :: Juilliard Quartet [CBS '63] ~ This, the third incarnation of the Juilliard Quartet (it features a different cellist and second violinist than the original incarnation), is the ultimate representative of the military-industrial complex that President Eisenhower warned us about, and its rightly famous 1963 set sets the standard for rigor, precision, trenchancy, and single-mindedness. The group essentially takes relatively straightforward but scrupulously planned interpretations and executes the living bejesus out of them. The inner dialog/debate of the Tokyo Quartet is here replaced by inner voices in complete lockstep. It's all very calculated and premeditated, but it's carried out with such cold-blooded veracity and efficiency-accentuated/exacerbated by the close, dry, clinical recorded sound-that you can't not listen to it. Warmth? Charm? Cuddliness? None, none, and not much. I admire more than enjoy this set, but it deserves mention for its uncompromising ethic and trenchant commitment to the cause.
> 
> :: Tátrai Quartet [Hungaroton '66] ~ The Tátrai Quartet offers exceptionally sinewy playing of great linear continuity and lyrical intensity, and all four players produce a distinctive silvery tone that is quite appealing. The sinewy/linear playing comes at a cost to incisiveness and rhythmic edge, though that cost is amazingly small, and maintaining the silvery tone comes at a cost to tonal variety, but these are performances to be reckoned with. Phrasing and characterization are quite idiomatic and "Hungarian" in their way, but they're less varied and multifaceted than they might be as a result of being tailored to fit the Tátrai sinewy/linear/lyrical sound mold. It's a unique and fascinating alternative set, with excellent mid-'60s analog sound, but it's perhaps too stylized for a general recommendation.
> 
> :: Zehetmair Quartett ~ No. 4 [ECM '99] & No. 5 [ECM '06] ~ The Zehetmair Quartett handles the technical demands of the Fourth Quartet with aplomb and plays with great flexibility and independence of parts while employing a very wide dynamic range; indeed, I'm inclined to say that they play too dynamically and with too much flexibility and independence, but it all holds together somehow and makes for a fascinating and exciting listen. The group's later recording of the Fifth Quartet is cut from the same cloth but doesn't hold together quite as well to my ears, and it's undermined by an excessively reverberant acoustic setting. Still, if you like the Zehetmair Quartett's account of the Fourth, you'll definitely want to hear its account of the Fifth-and it's coupled to a great account of Hindemith's String Quartet No. 4, Op. 22.
> 
> Interesting non-favorites include …
> 
> :: Végh Quartet [Astrée '72] ~ This second Végh Quartet set is often held up as the epitome of folk-y Hungarianism in this music, but I find the playing to be a bit over-characterized at times, sounding almost too Hungarian in the way that Maurice Chevalier acts almost too French. Otherwise, execution is more than good enough to put the group's interpretations across, even if tension is not well managed/maintained and intonation is a bit iffy, especially from Végh himself. If you can tolerate a few flies in your soup, these venerable performances offer a lot of savvy insights and are very easy to like. The tension being not well managed/maintained is the fly that I can't tolerate.
> 
> :: Alban Berg Quartett [EMI '83-'86] ~ The ABQ plays in a rich, polished Viennese manner that's not expected in these works, but it plays with such sovereign command that you're compelled to give it a listen, at least for a while-it's especially nice to hear the cellist come across so well. Interpretively, the group seems to consider Bartók a kindred spirit of Alban Berg (think _Lyric Suite_), and it gives his works something of a Second Viennese School treatment. Unfortunately, the group doesn't differentiate among the six decidedly different works as much as it might, and a certain one-size-fits-all feeling creeps into the proceedings when heard in short order. It's not the Bartók of my mind's ear, but it's compellingly played if not idiomatically, or even sympathetically, interpreted. The recorded sound is beautifully balanced and naturally distanced and blended, with less clarity and detail than ideal, but no digital glare.
> 
> :: Emerson Quartet [DG '88] ~ Compelling virtuosity in the service of aggressively generic characterization. These performances are as hard to embrace as they are to fault, but I keep the set around just because.
> 
> :: Keller Quartet [Erato '93/'94] ~ Everything here is well-executed and idiomatically phrased in a more polished/urbane, less earthy/sitting-around-the-campfire way than you'll find in the Végh Quartet's '72 set, but the playing is noticeably subdued at times, with forcefulness and dynamism dialed back a notch or two or three. This is certainly the result of an overthunk/ill-conceived interpretive decision rather than any lack of energy/ambition on the part of the Keller Quartet, but it tends to suck the life out of what could have been a winning set of performances. As it is, the best playing here only serves to remind you of what's missing from the subdued playing-very frustrating. Curiously, the Hagen Quartett's set on DG ('95/'98) is similarly undermined by bouts of subdued playing.
> 
> :: Takács Quartet [Decca '96] ~ The exuberant Takács Quartet gives robust, boldly characterized performances that threaten to burst at the seams. Tone/timbre, individually and collectively, is as rich, full, and colorful as it could be, complementing gregarious phrasing of the most crowd-pleasing idiomatic kind-and it's all captured in exceptionally vivid larger-than-life recorded sound. Indeed, the playing is often suggestive of a small string orchestra, bringing Bartók's _Divertimento_ to mind on occasion. Execution/proficiency is excellent on the whole, but rhythmic delivery isn't as taut as it might be-not surprising given the freedom and flexibility of the playing. Unfortunately, the playing tends to be expressively/emotionally overwrought, with drama verging on melodrama. So while I can well understand the great popularity of this set, for me, an ear-grabbing initial impression eventually gives way to too much of a good thing.
> 
> :: Chiara Quartet [Azica '16] ~ This curious new set features playing that is marked by a strong sense of inner dialog within an exceedingly flexible/stretchable framework. Rubber-armed phrasing in cahoots with an eccentric temporal/rhythmic sensibility tends to induce an exaggerated ebb & flow, a sort of pulsing undulation, to the musical flow that might make listeners with delicate constitutions a wee bit woozy. When this ebbing & flowing isn't dominating your attention, the sheer bendiness of the phrasing is. That the group can play this way and manage to hold everything together is impressive in its own right, but the style of play is the focus of my attention no matter how hard I try to get beyond it.


Have you heard Ramor? I listen to them quite often.


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## Dirge

Mandryka said:


> Have you heard Ramor? I listen to them quite often.


Yes. I rather like the Ramor Quartet's set-_unflappably lyrical_ is my ultra-quick take on the playing. I could do with a more prominent rhythmic profile and more tonal color and variety, but the group's composure never wavers, its focus & concentration never flags, and it maintains tension very well throughout. Vox's ultra-wide stereo separation is unnatural but sort of fascinating. [I only know the set via ancient 192 kbps MP3s, so I may not be getting the full Ramor Quartet experience, as Jimi Hendrix almost certainly would have put it.]


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## FranzS

Does anyone know the Heath Quartet? they have recently realeased a complete set for the Harmonia Mundi label.


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## Mandryka

Dirge said:


> Yes. I rather like the Ramor Quartet's set-_unflappably lyrical_ is my ultra-quick take on the playing. I could do with a more prominent rhythmic profile and more tonal color and variety, but the group's composure never wavers, its focus & concentration never flags, and it maintains tension very well throughout. Vox's ultra-wide stereo separation is unnatural but sort of fascinating. [I only know the set via ancient 192 kbps MP3s, so I may not be getting the full Ramor Quartet experience, as Jimi Hendrix almost certainly would have put it.]


Yes, unflappable, that's something I like, it's one of the things that makes me keep Keller, and which stops me from listening too much to Takas II.


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## Mandryka

millionrainbows said:


> It's an isolated event, but Kronos does a great version of the Bartok String Quartet No. 3 on their very first CD:


How modern they make this quartet sound! And what a magnificent piece of music it is too.


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## Vaneyes

My answer is on the other *Bartok*: String Quartets thread.


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## TurnaboutVox

FranzS said:


> Does anyone know the Heath Quartet? they have recently realeased a complete set for the Harmonia Mundi label.


Released on July 14th 2017, I believe. I'll also be very interested to hear any reports of this set.


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## fluteman

Dirge -- That's a fine survey with some excellent comments, spot-on with respect to the sets I am familiar with. I'm a fan of both Juilliard versions, but the difference in the cellists -- Arthur Winograd in the first, Claus Adam in the second -- profoundly changes the entire approach. Of course, the first set came very early in the LP era, and the sound quality is less than inspiring.


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## Vaneyes

Omicron9 said:


> Greetings, fellow Bartokians.
> 
> The Bartok string quartets are probably my favorite set of quartets in the history of ever. I have several recordings of the complete set, but am always on the lookout for another.
> 
> What do you have; what do you recommend, and why?
> 
> TIA,
> -09


For your pleasure, TC links below. To guard against redundancy, kindly consider searching for same/similar threads.

The TC search isn't the best. Instead, try using a dedicated search site, then typing in "Talk Classical" followed by a comma and your subject. :tiphat:

http://www.talkclassical.com/12761-bartok-string-quartets-1-a-5.html

http://www.talkclassical.com/2096-bartoks-quartets-5.html


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## Dirge

I've been listening to the new Heath Quartet set [HM, live '16] via Spotify and can muster no enthusiasm for it: the playing is very skilled and nicely balanced and coordinated in a subtly flexible sort of way, and the interpretation is well thought out so far as I can tell, with much care taken to relate the various sections, but it's clear that the group's #1 priority here is to not make a mistake-and there's not a moment when I fear that it will.


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## hpowders

Any of the Juilliard Quartet recordings.

I don't care for the Emerson Quartets clinical performances.


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## Omicron9

hpowders said:


> Any of the Juilliard Quartet recordings.
> 
> I don't care for the Emerson Quartets clinical performances.


I have both: the Emerson, and two Juilliard cycles. I like them all about equally, but for different reasons.


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## hpowders

Omicron9 said:


> I have both: the Emerson, and two Juilliard cycles. I like them all about equally, but for different reasons.


Okay. Have you heard the old Tokyo Quartet recordings?


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## Omicron9

hpowders said:


> Okay. Have you heard the old Tokyo Quartet recordings?


I've heard (but don't own) two of the Tokyo cycles. I think one was mid-to-late '70s DG, and other was '90s Red Seal. I can't make additional comments since I don't know those versions well enough to comment. But interested to know your thoughts?


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## blackbrook

Any comments on Jerusalem Quartet's take on 2, 4, & 6?


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## Mandryka

blackbrook said:


> Any comments on Jerusalem Quartet's take on 2, 4, & 6?


In the first movement of 4 they make the music sound elegant, tuneful and fluid. My superficial impression was that they were "at home" in 6, which I quite enjoyed. I haven't heard 2.

Has the first violinist changed violin in this recording? The sound of them, the sort of noise they make - well I'm hardly an expert in strings but I don't think it's really special or characterful, it may well be accurate and inoffensive.

Who says Bartok says Hungary. And who says Hungary says paprika. This is sweet paprika, not hot or smoked.


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## Omicron9

Update:
Of late, I've been listening mostly to the Belcea cycle. Quite good; certainly on the level of the Juilliards, Emerson, et. al. I hear details in the Belcea that I don't hear in the others. However, I hear details in Juilliard and Emerson that I don't hear in Belcea. My opinion: to really "get" the Bartok quartets, you need more than one version. 

The research continues.
-09


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## HenryPenfold

I'd like to give a shout for the Juilliard's digital set. I know this heresy, but I recently picked up a brand new copy for a good price and was astonished by the performances and especially the sound quality (although to be fair, it was one of those top-notch Japanese remastering, but wasn't advertised or priced as such). I really can't understand why so many people poo-poo this set. I have to say though, I have never knowingly heard any of the previous sets. I'm interested in getting the early 60s set but it's either unavailable or way too expensive.


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## les24preludes

For me there is only the Tatrai quartet. This is so good that I've stopped listening to anything else. It's been called "50 shades of grey" because of the wide tonal palette - they really explore the "sounds" as well as the notes. It's idiomatically Hungarian and very creative in their artistic decisions. Just on another level for me. Next to them I'd probably list the Hungarian, but that one stays on the shelves. I bought the Tatrai CD box and have never regretted it for a moment.


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## CnC Bartok

I've acquired the Tatrai set quite recently, and I have to echo the comments above. These make up a pretty special set (weird the Divertimento is included, though!)

It seems all of my favourite Bartok Quartet sets now are on Hungaroton. It can't be a coincidence. The others that for me are in joint second place overall with the Tatrai's are the original, early digital Takacs. They are to some extent rough round the edges, but they play with a wild abandon that is missing for me in their later Decca set. This Decca set is still excellent, by the way, I just find the older set excellenter......Yes, I know there's precious little personnel overlap in these two sets, but you get my drift!

Favourite set? The Devil-may-care approach of the Takacs AND the subtlety of the Tatrai, with the precision of the (grotesquely over-rated for me) Emersons. The Mikrokosmos set in the Bartok New Edition is for me a real revelation. Whoever records them finds something new and even unexpected, but these are especially fabulous..

Of the sets I own, very very few are indifferent. These would be the Novaks (Philips) the Emerson (DGG) and the New Budapest (Hyperion) I am not a huge fan of the old DGG Hungarian Qt either, but it's a matter of personal taste, they're just a bit too smooth for me. The Vegh, DGG Tokyo, early Juilliards, Keller, Belcea, ABQ, Vermeer, Ramor, are all great too.

I enjoyed the Chiara set, recommended not so long ago by Mandryka, and ditto the new Heath Quartet, although I do not know yet how often I'll return to them.


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## Oldhoosierdude

I have the Emerson Quartet which I found bargain bin and like it considerably. I considered Ramor Quartet on a low priced download but can only listen to samples and the sound seems flat and a bit dull to me (not the performance!). Dull sound will never do for these works.

The Tatrai Quartet I listened to on YouTube and would get that one but the price point is beyond my usual limits.

Think I will stick with what I have.


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## starthrower

I have Alban Berg, and Takacs. I prefer the later slightly for the more full bodied sound. I want to pick up some older recordings. Probably Vegh, and the first Tokyo, or maybe the Emerson's.


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## starthrower

Omicron9 said:


> I know the Tokyo recorded the cycle for RCA Red Seal in the (maybe) early '90s? Is the DG version a different recording? Thanks!


The 1981 DG set was re-issued on the Eloquence label at a bargain price. Presto sells it for 12 dollars.


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## Bluecrab

starthrower said:


> ...or maybe the Emerson's.


I have several versions of these quartets (Emerson, Vegh, Keller, Julliard, Tokyo). The Emerson set remains my favorite (even though it's clear that many on this forum don't like it). They're faithful to the scores and their playing is almost flawless throughout (the cellist does miss the timing on one note in movement 1 of the first quartet, but it's not egregious). I especially like their interpretation of the 4th quartet. They play it with so much energy.

I consider these quartets to be clearly among the most important of the 20th century. Bartok broke so much new ground in this cycle.


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## starthrower

I listened some more and grabbed a used set by the Belcea Quartet for 4 dollars. I don't care what the reviews say, they have an earthy sound and feel with good rhythm, and the sound isn't overly bright or strident. The Vegh '54 set is marred by booming cello sound, but I like their playing.


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## CnC Bartok

I've been a fan of the Belcea set for quite a while now. Not my top choice, but fresh and exciting, as well as well balanced. Proves you don't automatically have to have a set of wise old heads on a group of musicians to produce excellent results. 

I must say that your choices today have been pretty impeccable, old chap!

The later Vegh set is better as far as I am concerned, a really great set.


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## starthrower

I hope I have an opportunity to go listen to some Bartok quartets played live. I've really never been happy with this format on CD. But where I live I'll be lucky if I can hear even one of the quartets. We do have a long running chamber music society that has brought many world class ensembles to town but edgy modern music is not in abundance on the programs.


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## Mandryka

starthrower said:


> I hope I have an opportunity to go listen to some Bartok quartets played live.


You should try to hear the Chiara Quartet. They play without a score. The result is exciting.

I have heard the some of the quartets played live - it's like everything else, sometimes it works sometimes it doesn't!


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## Bluecrab

starthrower said:


> I hope I have an opportunity to go listen to some Bartok quartets played live.


We were fortunate enough to hear the Shanghai Quartet perform the entire cycle back in 2012.. They played 1, 3, and 5 in the afternoon and 2, 4, and 6 in the evening. The performances were first-rate. I can only imagine that performing the entire cycle in one day must be pretty taxing for the musicians-especially the 4th quartet.


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## starthrower

I'd be in heaven if I could attend a festival of entirely modern and contemporary music, but we don't have that kind of thing in my mid sized conservative town.


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## flamencosketches

Does anyone know the Keller Quartet recordings? I heard and liked the 4th quartet they've done.


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## Mandryka

flamencosketches said:


> Does anyone know the Keller Quartet recordings? I heard and liked the 4th quartet they've done.


Yes, I have it, it's another more lyrical one.


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## paulbest

Omicron9 said:


> Greetings, fellow Bartokians.
> 
> The Bartok string quartets are probably my favorite set of quartets in the history of ever. I have several recordings of the complete set, but am always on the lookout for another.
> 
> What do you have; what do you recommend, and why?
> 
> TIA,
> -09


so I will place the Julliard 1960's, Vegh, and the Ramor and both Tokyo, all 4 headed to the vaults, The Dungeon. 
Where they belong.


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## Merl

Im not as mad on Bartok's SQs as I am on Beethoven's but I do play them infrequently and like them (but ive gotta be in a certain mood). I have a few sets including Belcea, Hagen, Takacs, Emerson and a two-disc Endellion of a few of the SQs. Tbh, I like all of them in different ways but tend to come back to the Takacs more often than the others. I recently listened to some of the Chiara set and really enjoyed it. That might be one I invest in, next.


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## starthrower

I'm just the opposite, Merl. I can't get into Beethoven's quartets. I guess I haven't tried all that hard. I like the piano sonatas more. But mostly I spread myself too thin buying too much music. Bartok I feel like I can get a handle on because there's only six. Ravel and Debussy are even easier!


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## flamencosketches

starthrower said:


> I'm just the opposite, Merl. I can't get into Beethoven's quartets. I guess I haven't tried all that hard. I like the piano sonatas more. But mostly I spread myself too thin buying too much music. Bartok I feel like I can get a handle on because there's only six. Ravel and Debussy are even easier!


Agreed. I like Beethoven's quartets, but the only cycle I have of them is a download I picked up for $0.99. Going to keep it at that for now for my wallet's sake.


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## starthrower

I got the Tokyo RCA set for nine dollars but my wife listens to it. I just bought another Bartok set and I might get that Keller set on Apex too.


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## Mandryka

Yes, I listened to some of the Keller last night playing 4 and 5; at the end of the day I think the central quartets are better served by a more incisively articulated, less polished approach, given my tastes. But Keller is interesting to have. 

Bear in mind that there are two sets by the Tokyo. And three at least from The Juilliard. And two from Takacs. There may be two from Tatrai, I’m not sure.

I believe the Jerusalem Quartet will release a second recording, this completing their cycle, at the end of the year or the start of 2020.


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## Merl

Mandryka said:


> Bear in mind that there are two sets by the Tokyo. And three at least from The Juilliard. And two from Takacs. There may be two from Tatrai, I'm not sure.
> .


This is the Takacs one I have, Mandryka.


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## jegreenwood

starthrower said:


> I hope I have an opportunity to go listen to some Bartok quartets played live. I've really never been happy with this format on CD. But where I live I'll be lucky if I can hear even one of the quartets. We do have a long running chamber music society that has brought many world class ensembles to town but edgy modern music is not in abundance on the programs.


I heard the Orion Quartet play the cycle in two concerts about 15 years ago. What I recall most was the concentration of the audience. We were locked into the music. No shuffling, coughing etc. Great pair of evenings.


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## Cy Katz

I'm not opposed to the Emersons for certain works (I love their Barber quartet), but I don't think they get these totally indigenously Hungarian pieces. They're not the easiest to warm up to, but they are completely brilliant, and oh so Bartok. Much the way many say Dvorak's symphonies are best performed by The Czech Phil... under Talich or Neumann.... or Ashkenazy, and the way it's pretty incontestible that Bernstein's or MTT's traversals of Copland are without peer, so, too, I think, Bartok played by the Hungarian or Takacs Quartets present the best balance of modern angularity and late Romanticism. I'd save my shekels for their acclaimed performances on DGG and Decca.


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## Mandryka

Cy Katz said:


> I'm not opposed to the Emersons for certain works (I love their Barber quartet), but I don't think they get these totally indigenously Hungarian pieces. They're not the easiest to warm up to, but they are completely brilliant, and oh so Bartok. Much the way many say Dvorak's symphonies are best performed by The Czech Phil... under Talich or Neumann.... or Ashkenazy, and the way it's pretty incontestible that Bernstein's or MTT's traversals of Copland are without peer, so, too, I think, Bartok played by the Hungarian or Takacs Quartets present the best balance of modern angularity and late Romanticism. I'd save my shekels for their acclaimed performances on DGG and Decca.


One view is that the early quartets suite the late romantic approach; 3,4 and 5 suite the modernist approach; 6 . . . well who knows what sort of approach suits that one?

I never bother with the first two.


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## Eclectic Al

I need to go into my loft. I have 2 CD sets (ABQ and Keller), but I had a set on LP when I was at university in the early 80s and loved it. I just can't remember who did it!. It was on 3 LPs in a pink box, I think. I will have to look for it to remind me!

Ah. It was the Hungarian Quartet. I thought it was great.


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## millionrainbows

Now that it's been reissued, the 1963 Juilliard recording, initially released in France only. I have Takacs and Emerson; the 1963 Juilliard is my preference, by far.


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## millionrainbows

Mandryka said:


> One view is that the early quartets suite the late romantic approach; 3,4 and 5 suite the modernist approach; 6 . . . well who knows what sort of approach suits that one?
> 
> I never bother with the first two.


I agree with this. The Sixth is his search for a chromatic tonality, using diminished mechanisms.


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## Ulfilas

Amazed that nobody has spoken in favour of the Tokyo Quartet's second cycle on RCA. For me it's at the top, with Takacs on Decca, Emerson and any of the Juilliard cycles.


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## Adri Zuidervaart

So, I have a small collection of the complete Bartok string-quartet-cycles... 
First off all I bought the Emerson(DG)-cycle... I was not very impressed ....
Later on; the Belcea(Warner)-cycle...it opend my ears and eyes.
The Alban Berg(EMI)-cycle was okay..but I preferred the Belcea....
The Végh Quartet....very okay but a 'historical recording' with an outdated recording-technique
In the end(?) the Takács Quartet, the Hungaroton recordings / Decca-recordings....yes!!!!
[email protected]


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## Allegro Con Brio

These are some of my all-time favorite works; simply gems of artistic invention. The best cycle I have heard is the original Takacs on Hungaraton (?); the recording acoustic is unfortunately dry but the playing has such delightful bite and tang, and nails Bartok’s haunting lyricism and dynamic energy simultaneously - not an easy thing to do. Next would probably be the Hagen, whose style of playing I can’t describe adequately - it sounds as if they are making up the music on the spot; I don’t know if I’ve heard any other quartet do this since the historical “golden age.” They infuse their interpretations with an astonishing variety of ideas, it’s truly a feast. Then I would single out the Tatrai for their lovably abrasive and individual style like a group of street musicians scrubbing away in a beer hall (I say that in the most positive way possible), and the Hungarian on DG which I think is ever so slightly overrated but still finds plenty of warmth and soul in the music; they are very “folksy” readings without quite the vigor and attack some might prefer.


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## Richard di Calatrava

starthrower said:


> I listened some more and grabbed a used set by the Belcea Quartet for 4 dollars. I don't care what the reviews say, they have an earthy sound and feel with good rhythm, and the sound isn't overly bright or strident. The Vegh '54 set is marred by booming cello sound, but I like their playing.


I also like the Belcea, although not my favourite (currently, it's the Hungarian Quartet...but I change my mind every so often!)

DON'T underestimate the early Vegh set (especially as packaged with the complete Beethoven Q's as well!) It's good, earthy, basic -even barbaric- Bartok. I find that the "boomy" cello -which is not really bothersome for me- can be neatly tamed with a reduction of the bass knob (if your amp has tone controls).


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## Richard di Calatrava

Allegro Con Brio said:


> These are some of my all-time favorite works; simply gems of artistic invention. The best cycle I have heard is the original Takacs on Hungaraton (?); the recording acoustic is unfortunately dry but the playing has such delightful bite and tang, and nails Bartok's haunting lyricism and dynamic energy simultaneously - not an easy thing to do. Next would probably be the Hagen, whose style of playing I can't describe adequately - it sounds as if they are making up the music on the spot; I don't know if I've heard any other quartet do this since the historical "golden age." They infuse their interpretations with an astonishing variety of ideas, it's truly a feast. Then I would single out the Tatrai for their lovably abrasive and individual style like a group of street musicians scrubbing away in a beer hall (I say that in the most positive way possible), and the Hungarian on DG which I think is ever so slightly overrated but still finds plenty of warmth and soul in the music; they are very "folksy" readings without quite the vigor and attack some might prefer.


YES - Takacs 1985, ABSOLUTELY! That was my first set (bought brand-new back in the late-'80s, well before Amazon/eBay! Full-priced, three discs, very uneconomical...but so worth it!)

I now have 8 sets, of which I favour the Hungarian Quartet, Alban Berg, plus Vegh 1954 for its earthy, almost-barbaric qualities(!) I have just ordered a ninth: Tokyo (DG) "blind" -without even bothering to check them out on YouTube, because of some overwhelmingly-great reviews. I could revel in this music all day...and then the Shostakovich Quartets call...and then I get sucked back into the Beethoven Quartets...and then the Piano Sonatas...and then...


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## Merl

The Diotima and Alexander are very fine cycles. You don't need to be Hungarian to play Bartok really well. Sure, it helps, but it's not essemtial.


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## NovAntiqua

you can give a chance to the recording of no.4 and no.6 by Lyskamm String Quartet.
on spotify 



 or digital Bartok String Quartets


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## Enthusiast

I have enjoyed the Ragazze Quartet recordings of Bartok's quartets, recently.


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