Beethoven Piano Concertos....

[Frankli]

Originally posted by Rod:
Frank the fugue is too slow, there's no other way of looking at it. Emphasising a single musical point has resulted in the whole thing becomming a labour. It reminds me of what the Eroica Quartet did with the scherzo from op135.

Well Rod it's not that they emphasize one detail, they just pay attention to all details. Their performance makes it easier to hear what's happening, which is a lot! Overal performance of op. 130/133 is comparable to what they do with op. 132. It's also a matter of taste, but from their technically excellent playing it can be concluded that they deliberately play that slow.

The op132 track was much more to my taste, not a million miles from the Fitzwillaim performance, though the inner parts have more prominence with the Mosaiques effort and yes some interesting details emerge here and there. Thanks.
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They played 59/1 at the same concert. I do hope that by practising a lot they will be able to record everything from op. 59 on, within the next 20 years!

[Frankli]

Originally posted by Peter:
This is true for me as well - as a young student, late Beethoven quartets were off limits, I simply did not get it. Then for an exam I had to study Bartok's 5th quartet (which I've never recovered from or listened to since) and suddenly Beethoven's quartets opened up for me. Perhaps I might be brave enough one day to give Bartok's quartets another go - possibly a little frightened what they might do to me this time!

Be brave Peter, and try them again! Now that you have had some excercise with Beethoven, you might start to appreciate them at last.
Of course nothing can be compared with the Beethoven late quartets, but IF any, it's Bartók's 5 and 6. Beethoven's are clearly a heavy inspiration for Bartók, and he was very fond of the Beethoven works.
I didn't grasp a note hearing 5 and 6 for the first time, but just with the Beethoven quartets was fascinated by them. By now, after listening for years, they make sense to me.

[Peter]

Originally posted by Frankli:
Be brave Peter, and try them again! Now that you have had some excercise with Beethoven, you might start to appreciate them at last.
Of course nothing can be compared with the Beethoven late quartets, but IF any, it's Bartók's 5 and 6. Beethoven's are clearly a heavy inspiration for Bartók, and he was very fond of the Beethoven works.
I didn't grasp a note hearing 5 and 6 for the first time, but just with the Beethoven quartets was fascinated by them. By now, after listening for years, they make sense to me.

I know you're right - these Bartok quartets are great works and perhaps it is about time I made the effort. Do you have any good recordings to recommend?

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'Man know thyself'

[Sorrano]

Originally posted by Peter:
This is true for me as well - as a young student, late Beethoven quartets were off limits, I simply did not get it. Then for an exam I had to study Bartok's 5th quartet (which I've never recovered from or listened to since) and suddenly Beethoven's quartets opened up for me. Perhaps I might be brave enough one day to give Bartok's quartets another go - possibly a little frightened what they might do to me this time!

Maybe it's about time for me to listen to the Bartok quartets! It was not until recently that I even dared listen to the Beethoven late quartets and one of the, I don't recall which one actually made me cry. (It was one of the slow movements.) But I've always liked what I've heard from Bartok (I am a 20th Century type of music person, anyway).

[Frankli]

Originally posted by Peter:
I know you're right - these Bartok quartets are great works and perhaps it is about time I made the effort. Do you have any good recordings to recommend?

I myself have recordings from the Végh (early 70s) and the Alban Berg Quartet, which I like both for much different reasons. My first acquaintance was with the Juilliard Quartet. But I think that there are plenty of other good recordings.