Search - Tasso Adamopoulos, Antonin Dvorak, Johann Sebastian Bach :: Dvorák: 4 Quatours; 2 Quintettes (Includes bonus CD, "Travelling")

The best rendition of these quartets you'll ever hear

Joey Joe Joe Jr. Shabadoo | Boston, MA USA | 03/06/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is first-rate playing by the Talich. Somehow this ensemble missed out on the fame of other, lesser groups. This probably stems from their style, which is a throwback to the old master quartets of days gone by. Their playing is immaculate - excellent intonation, good balance and voicing. The group blends well when needed, yet all lines are clearly audible. They have the distinctively incisive playing style that characterizes the slavic school of chamber music playing - more emphasis on the work's architecture, rather than merely providing warm, genial sound.

The set includes Dvorak's last 4 quartets (opp. 61, 96 - aka the famous "American", 105 & 106), as well as the string quintet op. 97 and the piano quintet op. 81. All selections are recorded in warm, late 70s analog. The packaging is a bit annoying - the discs come in those awful cardboard sleeves - but just make sure to get them out of these ASAP and put them in a CD booklet or better yet a blank jewel case. The set features excellent, detailed liner notes and a freebie disc with a mixture of music from other Calliope releases.

Recommended along with their releases of the complete Mozart quintets, complete Beethoven quartets and their complete Mendelssohn quartets. The Talich releases on Calliope are always priced at or below mid-range, and feature some of the best played & recorded versions you are likely to hear. This set blows the Prague Quartet out of the water (which I previously reviewed & had been my favorite), and compares very favorably with the ultra-expensive imports available from the Prazak quartet."