Search - Alban Berg Quartett :: Bartok: String Quartets Nos. 1 - 6

Bartok goes to Vienna (and even smiles a little)

Santa Fe Listener | Santa Fe, NM USA | 09/23/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This 1987 set of the Bartok quartets (which amazon shows as out of print but is actually available in several bargain editions from EMI) runs against the grain. It feels more viennese than Hungarian, for one thing, more civilized than barbaric, more beautiful than nervously intense. If you are used to the precise, at times savage style of the Emerson Qut. in this music--their DG set dominates the field right now--then the smoother style of the Alban Berg may not suit you.



For myself, I am happy to have Bartok smile a bit. The ABQ took four years to record all six quartets, but in every case we get breathtaking virtuosity, really unparalleled even by the Emersons. Intonaiton, ensemble, and communication between the instruments comes close to perfection, yet there's also rhythmic freedom. What's lacking in terms of savagery or shock value is compensated for by pure musicality, especially in the earlier quartets, which are less modernist. But the three greatest works, Qartets #3, 4, and 5, emerge as a great display of intense imagination. If you are wedded automatically to the Emerson's versions, you'll be surprised how much is added by making Bartok's music sound warm and beautiful."