Nel secondo volume della integrale dei Quartetti di Beethoven che il Quartetto...

I oto mamy drugie woluminy w dwóch seriach wszystkich kwartetów smyczkowych...

japanische Rezension siehe PDF

When I reviewed the first volume of Beethoven's string quartets in a new...

We may have grown accustomed to closely recorded string quartets in a relatively...

Nach dem Ende des Quartetto Italiano Mitte der 1980er-Jahre gab es lange Zeit...

[…] The Cremona Quartet (Cristiano Gualco/Paolo Andreoli (violins), Simone...

In der auf sechs CDs angelegten Gesamteinspielung der Beethoven-Quartette präsentiert das ‘Quartetto di Cremona’ die zweite Produktion mit den Streichquartetten op. 59/2 und op.127 – zwei Werke, die zeitlich weit auseinanderliegen und Beethovens musikalische Entwicklung exemplarisch darstellen.

Genau wie im Volume I musiziert das ‘Quartetto di Cremona’ mit einer packenden Kompromisslosigkeit. Das 2. Rasumowsky-Quartett lebt von einem ungebändigten inneren Feuer, das lediglich im sublimierten Adagio etwas gezähmt wird. Von natürlicher Frische und forscher Selbstverständlichkeit ist das späte Es-Dur-Quartett geprägt. Hier entsteht definitiv eine Referenzaufnahme.

Audite’s second volume of Beethoven’s String Quartets confirms our high expectations raised when we listened to the first one. This will undoubtedly be a reference recording!

This is the third volume of the Cremona’s Beethoven Quartets. The first installment with Quartets 6, 11, and 16 was reviewed by Greg Pagel (S/O 2013). I took on 8 and 12 (M/J 2014). I felt with 8 and 12, two of Beethoven’s best, that the performances were too direct and uninflected. The players’ technical abilities are first rate, so I was hoping that time and experience would deepen their Beethoven. (The liner notes to the present release liken the Cremona, a young Italian group, to the Quartetto Italiano, and I guess I have to call that premature!)
If there are problems with maturity, they don’t show up in Quartet 4, an enthusiastic, dramatic affair from early in Beethoven’s career. The playing is sharply articulate, enthusiastic, and somewhat Haydnesque—in other words, a fine, outgoing, “young” performance. Some of my characterization of the playing comes from the sonics, which are bright and leave violinist Cristiano Gualco sounding a bit wiry; put another way, the CD hasn’t very much warmth, so this doesn’t sound like a burnished German group.
Quartet 7 (Razoumovsky 1) is nicely done—standard tempos with fine control of the many exposed places. I was particularly pleased that when called for, their playing can be very quiet. Many groups glide over Beethoven’s dynamics and sforzandos, but the Cremona observes them well, bringing interest to the piece without calling undue attention.
As for Quartet 16, the Grosse Fuge, I’m never sure what to say. The piece seems to be overwhelming in its intellect and emotion, but I’m not certain I “get it”. At any rate the Cremona, like most quartets, slash and burn their way through the piece.
In sum I have a better impression of the Cremona in this installment, even if I wouldn’t place them with the Quartetto Italiano quite yet. The bright sound is a small impediment for me, but on different equipment with surround sound it might be perfectly fine.

During the past ten years, the Quartetto di Cremona – Cristiano Gualco,...