Beethoven - String Quartets, Op.18
Takács Quartet
Decca 470 8482 (2CD)

Release date February 2004

The release of the Rasumovsky Quartets by the Takács Quartet in 2002 could hardly have been a more auspicious start to their first Beethoven cycle on record; it was a shoo-in for that year's Gramophone Chamber Music Award. Their new set of the Op. 18 quartets, rather misleadingly billed as 'The Early Quartets', is of a similarly exalted standard. Indeed, my comparative listening failed to unearth a version to better it. It's partly a question of their sound; they employ nervy, quick vibrato, and favour relatively fat-free, tangy sonorities that suit Beethoven's dramatic, witty music perfectly. They also risk dangerously quick, swashbuckling tempi for the allegros - it's surprising how many rival quartets content themselves with jog-trot tempi. Movements such as the Allegro molto, quasi presto of the G major quartet are exhilarating in the Takács' hands, for instance. The first movement of the F major quartet is launched like a tightly-coiled spring and throughout the set the fast music is propelled by taut, tensile rhythms. 'Slow' movements are actually quite rare in the Op. 18 set; there is only one true adagio (in the B flat quartet), and that turns out to be an introduction to the shadow-flecked finale. The Takács find a tempo that maximises the depth and atmosphere of this remarkable music, without becoming becalmed as the Quartetto Italiano do in their recording - one of the Italians' rare blemishes in a generally finely-judged set. The 'bread and butter' of quartet playing - intonation, ensemble, balance - are entirely mastered; the often tricky first violin writing sounds like a walk in the park as played by Edward Dusinberre. Andrew Keener's production ensures warmth without any fuzziness. I can't wait for the final volume, due out in the autumn.

Reviewed by Sandy Matheson