Search - Ludwig van Beethoven, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Busch String Quartet :: Beethoven: Quartets, Opp. 59/3 & 130; String Trio Op. 3; Mozart: Trio K.564

The Busch Quartet was one of the greatest of all chamber music ensembles, widely recorded and famous throughout the world. These recently discovered live performances introduce two trios, recorded in 1944, to the Quartet's recorded repertoire, and they are superbly played if somewhat dimly recorded. But the live versions of two Beethoven quartets from 1951 concert (the Quartet's last year) are the real treasures in this set. They are in surprisingly fine sound, showing little of the failings of age, but much of its wisdom. These players "know how it goes," and the results are memorable and profoundly moving. --Leslie Gerber