# Favorite String Quartets (ensembles, not works)



## newyorkconversation

Chamber music fans: who are your favorite string quartets? 

This year, I saw wonderful performances by the Orion Quartet, the Takács Quartet and the Emerson Quartet.

Hope to see: Quatour Mosaïques (they did play some dates around NYC but I missed them, sadly), Julliard Quartet (seeing this spring).

Wish I had seen: Quartetto Italiano!


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## Kjetil Heggelund

Love string quartets! I don't really have favorites, but have heard most the Alban Berg, Emerson, Hagen and Amadeus quartets, before STREAMING...Some years ago I saw the Vertavo quartet in Oslo, and also Kronos ages ago. This years winner for me, according to spotify, is the Chiaroscuro quartet with their 2 Haydn albums.


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## Pugg

The Pavel Haas Quartet are out standingso are the Quatuor Modigliani ( newly discovered by me not so long ago)
From the older ones; Emerson string quartet, Takács Quartet and the Alban Berg quartet .


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## newyorkconversation

Pugg said:


> The Pavel Haas Quartet are out standing


Yes, I'd love to see them perform! Sadly, no US dates are listed on their website...at least through June 2018...



Pugg said:


> so are the Quatuor Modigliani


Unfamiliar with this group and will investigate - thanks!


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## newyorkconversation

Kjetil Heggelund said:


> This years winner for me, according to spotify, is the Chiaroscuro quartet with their 2 Haydn albums.


had not heard of the Chiaroscuros either - I love the Sonnen-Quartette - looking forward to listening!


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## bharbeke

The Amadeus Quartet is the group that first turned me on to the Beethoven quartets.

I only heard a snippet of them last night, but I was digging the sound of the Daedalus Quartet on Haydn.


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## newyorkconversation

it looks like the Daedalus are in the middle of playing through the complete Beethoven quartets at U. Penn in Philly:

http://www.philly.com/philly/entert...-beethoven-string-quartet-cycle-20170914.html


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## Josquin13

Among current string quartets, I've most enjoyed the Gewandhaus Quartet (in Beethoven, Haydn, Mozart, etc.), Merel Quartet (recently in Mozart--they're new to me), Cuarteto Casals (especially their Haydn Op. 33 set & Mozart "Dissonance & early quartets), Elias Quartet (live in Beethoven), Quatour Parissi (in the French repertory), Ebene Quartet, and Takacs Quartet (in Beethoven, Haydn, & Schumann). The Artis Quartet is very good too (in Magnard, Beethoven, Mozart, etc.). I've also been impressed by the young Zemlinsky Quartet. 

On period instruments, the Schuppanzigh Quartet has done some of the finest Haydn SQ recordings I've ever heard. I've also liked the Festetics & Chiaroscuro Quartets in both Haydn & Mozart, and Quatour Mosaïques in the same, along with the Apponyi Quartet in Haydn's op. 33 set. The Edding Quartet & Quatour Turner have both impressed in Beethoven.

Among recently disbanded groups, the Parkanyi Quartet (formerly the Orlando Quartet) was a great favorite of mine (especially in Debussy & Ravel, as well as Bartok, Haydn, etc.), along with the Chilingirian Quartet (in Mozart's 10 "Great" SQs, Haydn, Schubert's final 3 SQs, etc.). I miss both groups.

Among quartets of the past, my favorites have included the Smetana Quartet (especially in Late Beethoven & Mozart), the Alban Berg Quartet (in Schubert, Mozart, Haydn, & Beethoven), the Orlando Quartet (in Haydn, Mozart, Debussy, Ravel, and Schubert), the Busch Quartet (in Beethoven, Brahms, & Schubert), and Quartetto Italiano (in late Mozart & late Beethoven, and Schubert). I've also enjoyed some of the Melos Quartet's recordings (Debussy, Ravel, Schubert, Mozart, Beethoven, etc.). I'm sure I'm forgetting some groups, but that's what comes to mind at the moment.


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## poodlebites

La Salle Quartet was also a good one. Their late Beethoven quartets are worth a listen. 
The Fitzwilliam Quartet and Borodin Quartet recordings of the Shostakovich quartets are also quite good. 

I'm going to see the Borodin Quartet tomorrow. I think they're not the same members that recorded Sostakovich #8 and Borodin #2 for Decca, but I have hight expectations.


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## newyorkconversation

fantastic info, thanks for this



Josquin13 said:


> Among current string quartets, I've most enjoyed the Gewandhaus Quartet (in Beethoven, Haydn, Mozart, etc.), Merel Quartet (recently in Mozart--they're new to me), Cuarteto Casals (especially their Haydn Op. 33 set & Mozart "Dissonance & early quartets), Elias Quartet (live in Beethoven), Quatour Parissi (in the French repertory), Ebene Quartet, and Takacs Quartet (in Beethoven, Haydn, & Schumann). The Artis Quartet is very good too (in Magnard, Beethoven, Mozart, etc.). I've also been impressed by the young Zemlinsky Quartet.
> 
> On period instruments, the Schuppanzigh Quartet has done some of the finest Haydn SQ recordings I've ever heard. I've also liked the Festetics & Chiaroscuro Quartets in both Haydn & Mozart, and Quatour Mosaïques in the same, along with the Apponyi Quartet in Haydn's op. 33 set. The Edding Quartet & Quatour Turner have both impressed in Beethoven.


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## newyorkconversation

poodlebites said:


> I'm going to see the Borodin Quartet tomorrow.


enjoy! review perhaps?


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## Josquin13

NewYorkconversation,

You're very welcome. I should add that pianist Alfred Brendel has spoken very highly of the Merel String Quartet (mentioned above), though they've had some personel changes since he made his comment (and since their excellent Mozart CD that I'm also keen on), as unfortunately the superb violinist Julia Schröder is no longer playing with the group. However, I have heard the Merel's recent line up perform a Beethoven SQ on You Tube (from 2015), and thought they were very, very good. So, yes, I'd say they're still one of the finest quartets on the scene today (in a crowded field):






and their Mozart (with Julia Schröder):

https://www.amazon.com/Haydn-Quarte...&qid=1513275256&sr=1-4&keywords=merel+quartet

Another current quartet that's worth keeping an eye on (& I forgot to mention them above) is the Artemis Quartet. They've had some personal changes in recent years, due to the tragic death of one of their members; however, I'm a huge fan of their new 1st violinist, Vineta Sareika, from her work with Trio Dali, and expect great things! from the new Artemis Quartet (perhaps a 2nd Beethoven cycle?).


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## poodlebites

newyorkconversation said:


> enjoy! review perhaps?


Not that I have knowledge enough to critic somebody else's playing, but I liked the concert a lot and the only thing that put me off a bit was how technical the first violin was (he was like a manual about how to play the violin, sit perfectly, bow completely straight, just moving the forearm, moving his left hand fingers fluidly...) but I missed a bit of emotion. I cannot say that about the other three, the viola player specially, you could see he was feeling the music and his sound was beautiful. 
The started with Schubert's Quartettstazt D703 to continue with Tchaikovsky's Children's album op.39 adaptation for string quartet. I had never heard that collection of small pieces before and I think they were the part of the concert I enjoyed the most. They ended with Borodin's #2 and before they left, they played another small piece by Borodin that was not in the program, but unfortunatelly I didn't hear what was the name of the piece because someone was coughing her/his lungs out.


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## Judith

Love the Endellion String Quartet. Saw them live last year and they were amazing. Managed to get my CD autographed.

Incidentally, I first met David Waterman when I met Steven Isserlis the first time at a recital. He was in same room and was introduced to him.

Ralph de Souza has a brother Harvey who performs for ASMF


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## karlsoren

I very rarely think a recording by a string quartet is bad. They all play at a very high level. but having heard over a dozen versions of the complete Beethoven, my continued favorite is the Berg quartet. They are not slow like Borodin and Cleveland, nor manic like Emerson. They have great tone and worsk with each other. The recorded sound is fab as well. As many times as I listen to Alexande, Vegh, Vermeer, Hungarian, Takacs, Endellion, etc., when I come back to the Berg I feel like I'm home with this exquisite music.


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## philoctetes

Arditti Vegh Berg Talich Borodin Hungarian Melos LaSalle Italiano Artis Jack Duotima. 

The only ones above that I've seen live are the Borodin Arditti and Jack. Others I've seen include Takacs, Cleveland, Juilliard, Guarneri, Emerson...


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## ancore

Schubert: death and the maiden (especially 2nd movement)


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## Rmathuln

newyorkconversation said:


> Chamber music fans: who are your favorite string quartets?
> 
> This year, I saw wonderful performances by the Orion Quartet, the Takács Quartet and the Emerson Quartet.
> 
> Hope to see: Quatour Mosaïques (they did play some dates around NYC but I missed them, sadly), Julliard Quartet (seeing this spring).
> 
> Wish I had seen: Quartetto Italiano!


A favorite of mine is the Auryn Quartet. Too bad their media on the Tacet label is so super expensive.


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## Brahmsian Colors

No necessary order.........

Raphael Ensemble
Quartetto Italiano
Borodin String Quartet
Budapest String Quartet
Tokyo String Quartet


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## DFlat

I don’t really know any string quartet’s full body of work at all, so it’s impossible for me to separate the ensembles from the pieces I like them for.

Borodin – For their 2 cycles of the Shostakovich (the earlier with Dubinsky, and later with Kopelman).

Vegh – For their Beethoven and Bartok cycles from the 70s. I’m not familiar with their earlier mono recordings of the same works.

Julliard – For their early 90s recording of Elliot Carter (the 4 quartets he had written up to that point).

Also,
Chilingirian and Alban Berg (Mozart)
Tatrai (Hadyn)
Emerson (Prokofiev)
Talich (Smetna)
Melos (Mendelssohn)
Moyzes (Dvorak)


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## Eramire156

One of the quartets not yet mentioned, is the *Hollywood Quartet*, I keep hoping EMI/Warner will re-issue their recording in a budget box. If for nothing else for their recording of the Shostakovich Piano Quintet.


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## Over the Rainbow

Beethoven : Vegh quartet and Vlach quartet
Haydn : Tatrai Quartet
Debussy/Ravel : Vlach quartet and quartetto Italiano
Schubert : Alban Berg quartet
overall my 2 favorite are Vegh and Vlach


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