The RIAS Amadeus Quartet Recordings

Volume 5 in Audite’s survey of the Berlin broadcasts of the Amadeus Quartet is undoubtedly the most important yet. Works wholly new to the quartet’s discography, superbly performed, ensure that the box is of far more than archival interest. And then there are the three guest artists – Cecil Aronowitz, Heinrich Geuser and Conrad Hansen. A box to savour.

The fifth volume in Audite’s superbly refurbished boxed series covers a two-decade period from 1950-69 during which time the Amadeus Quartet set down numerous broadcast recordings at the Siemensvilla studios of RIAS. The fifth volume covers the Romantic period – from Mendelssohn and Schumann to Brahms, Bruckner, Grieg, Verdi and Dvořák. The great value – one of many, but the principal one nonetheless – is that several of the works are new to the quartet’s discography.

The first three CDs are largely given over to Brahms. In the case of the C minor Quartet, Op. 51 No. 1 the recording is slightly shrill in the strings’ upper register – this is something that is noticeable in a number of these earliest incarnations – though not enough to limit one’s enjoyment of the performances. What one may lose in this acidic quality is more than made up when the playing is so vitalised and dramatically purposeful. The tonal breadth of the Romanze survives any possible aural impediment. It’s the quality of refinement that demarcates the Op. 67 Quartet where one finds Norbert Brainin’s beautiful phrasing in the Andante one of the most distinguishing markers of excellence. The 1957 recording quality is decidedly warmer, aerating the ensemble’s textures to considerable advantage. A couple of days after the Op. 51 No. 1 performance the quartet returned to the radio studio to play the Piano Quintet in F minor, Op. 34 but not with one of their familiar colleagues, Clifford Curzon, but instead with Conrad Hansen. He is perfectly in tune with the conception, his own contribution being eminently well-balanced: playing of strong identity but selfless integration. Note his pizzicato-like paragraphs in the first movement, and the scaled question-and-response between the strings and piano, as well as the expressive inner voicings in the slow movement and the Scherzo’s sweep. In the beautifully phrased Clarinet Quintet, chronologically the last work in the box to have been composed, the Amadeus is joined by Heinrich Geuser. A distinguished orchestral principal, teacher and soloist he had a considerable influence on the succeeding generation of clarinets, one of whom – Karl Leister, the most famous German player of his generation – was later to record the Clarinet Quintet with the Amadeus.

For the String Quintet, Op. 111 they are joined by their violist of choice, Cecil Aronowitz, for a September 1953 performance of vivid communicative power where the rhythmic pointing in the finale is as persuasive as the elements of rusticity embedded in the music. The Bruckner Quartet is sonorously declaimed but they manage to locate the wit in the Scherzo that prefaces the sustained gravity of the Adagio. Though they performed Schumann’s chamber music in concert and for radio broadcast they never took any of the music into the studio, which makes the appearance of the Op.44 Piano Quintet and the A major Quartet, Op. 41 No. 3 so exciting. The former is again with Hansen in a performance dating from February 1962 notable for the flowing lyricism of the second movement and in the sensitive balance maintained in the finale. The A major’s fugal and rustic predilections are happily brought out, the country dance that courses through the finale being a particularly good example of the Amadeus’ art. The recording quality is generous enough to make the quartet sound more characteristically themselves here than in some of the earliest readings. Even in a box this fine, disc four is therefore particularly valuable for reasons of repertoire and interpretation.

But then so too are the final discs. The Amadeus never recorded Mendelssohn’s E flat major – listen to the lavishly applied tone in the Beethoven-inspired slow opening section of the first movement – but they certainly don’t stint the expressive intensity of the slow movement. They did record the Capriccio from the Op. 81 Quartet as a stand-alone, and reprise that here. Perhaps surprisingly they’d had the Verdi Quartet in their repertoire right from their 1948 Wigmore Hall debut so by November 1962 it had been under their fingers for a decade-and-a-half. They’d learnt to mitigate any inherent problems in the writing whilst remaining excitingly earthy in the Prestissimo third movement. It’s perhaps strange too to realise that they left behind only a single Dvořák work – inevitably, the American quartet – so the A major Piano Quintet, Op. 81 is another item new to their now-expanding discography. Hansen is again good in this 1950 reading – one can draw parallels between this interpretation and that of Curzon and the Vienna Philharmonic Quartet at around the same time, as well as on the wing with the Budapest Quartet. The Amadeus drive when required though their rhythms aren’t quite as pungent as the best Czech ensembles. Finally, there is yet another newbie, the Grieg Quartet. If your standard is the impossibly high pre-war 78rpm set by the Budapest, then you will find the Amadeus not too far behind in matters of tonal breadth. It’s a stylish reading and very communicatively presented.

The six CDs in this box offer great rewards for the Amadeus collector. The items new to their work list are clearly of the greatest interest and it’s doubly valuable that the performances of these are no less compelling than the companion works. It’s also good to hear from their collaborative artists – Aronowitz, the only violist they performed with, the great clarinetist Geuser and, of course, Hansen who makes a consistently fine impression. The original broadcast tapes have been outstandingly well realised: they’re all mono with the single exception of the Mendelssohn Op. 12. In short, exemplary presentation, and a richly valuable box.

With a time frame that stretches from 1950 to 1969, Audite's fifth volume of RIAS Amadeus Quartet Recordings catches this great ensemble at the height of its powers. The theme on this occasion is Romanticism, and the set includes key repertoire that the quartet never took into the recording studio. Of principal interest is Grieg's G minor Quartet (recorded 1953), a performance that for sheer energy and expressive power rivals the pre-war recording from the Budapest Quartet – the first movement especially. You get the sense that both the quartet's leader Norbert Brainin – who is on especially good form here – and his colleagues are relishing every moment of a delectable score.

Mendelssohn is represented by a fiery account (1952) of the Capriccio from Op 81 (a work the group did record complete), especially striking at its fugal centre; and the Quartet in E flat major, Op 12 (1969), which features a warmly phrased account of the opening Adagio.

Schumann is another curious absentee from the Amadeus's official discography, the Piano Quintet in E flat (1950) most engaging where in the first-movement exposition (played with repeat) the second theme is handed between the viola and the cello, whereas the Scherzo illustrates how well pianist Conrad Hansen establishes a strong presence without overwhelming his colleagues. How lovely, too, Brainin's playing in the Trio. Hansen also cues a gently rocking lullaby for the opening of Dvorak's Piano Quintet (1950), and all five players alternate poetry and high spirits for the Dumka second movement: note the wild accelerando from 7'24", before Hansen calls a halt and Brainin weeps his line with a mournful (though never overwide) vibrato and marked portamentos. This is vintage Amadeus artistry.

It's interesting that for the opening bars of the third movement of Brahms's First Quartet (1950) they take the written hairpin dynamic as a cue to enter on an aching rallentando, an option they also take on their two commercial recordings of the score, though here it's more marked. This darkly introspective reading is in marked contrast to the more songful, even genial, account from seven years later of Op 67, the finale's variations bringing the work to a colourful conclusion. The finale of the Op III String Quintet (1953, with Cecil Aronowitz), however, really fuels the flames, especially at its centre, though for sheer ebullience the opening can't compare with a roughly contemporaneous Sony recording from the Casals Festival at Prades with Isaac Stern, Alexander Schneider and friends (coupled with the Schumann Piano Quintet with Myra Hess), a classic that's surely due for a local reissue.

The other featured Brahms Quintets involve clarinettist Heinrich Geuser (1951), whose mellow playing fits the music's mood to perfection and Hansen (1950) whose contribution to the Piano Quintet, and the finale in particular, is powerfully communicative. Which leaves Bruckner's F major Quintet (195 7), lovingly played form start to finish (movingly emotional in the Adagio) and Verdi's E minor Quartet (1962), not quite in the same class musically as the Bruckner but very well played.

So, in closing, I'd say that of the six volumes of this invaluable edition, perhaps Volume 5, 'Romanticism', is the most treasurable of all, given the number of Amadeus repertoire rarities it includes. The transfers, all from excellent mono radio tapes, are consistently excellent. […]

The sixth volume in Audite’s survey of the Amadeus Quartet’s RIAS broadcasts covers a two-decade period between 1950 and 1969 and focuses securely on the Haydn quartets. Lest this seem merely peripheral or ancillary to the ensemble’s commercial discography it should be pointed out that of the fourteen quartets and the quartet version of The Seven Last Words included in the box, three of the quartets were never recorded by the Amadeus in the studio: Op.9 No.3, Op.20 No.5 and Op.33 No.2. That is certainly reason enough for considering this 5-CD collection.

Audite have taken the decision to programme the quartets chronologically so that the trio of previously unrecorded quartets appear on the very first CD. This also means that a work recorded in 1951 can be followed by one taped in 1969 which is itself followed by something from 1950. It’s fortunate that the engineers achieved so high a standard throughout the sequence, so that the switch between years is not jarring. Op.9 No.3 is quite taut and forward-moving in the opening, possibly more Allegro than Moderato as marked whilst Brainin’s concertante role in the Menuet is played with rich sweetness. The Adagio in Op. 20 No.5 is beautifully cantilevered, songfully expressive with the decorate first violin flourishes dexterously dispatched. Op.33 No.3, nicknamed The Joke, goes so well in this performance that one wonders why it was so seldom played and never recorded by the quartet. These are the many highlights of the first disc but one shouldn’t omit the rapt slow movement of Op. 54 No.2 which is heard in two contexts – firstly in a performance of the quartet from 1969 and as an appendix, as an isolated movement in a broadcast from June 1950.

Though one now moves into terra cognita from the second disc onwards there are always changes in emphasis or breadth when considering these broadcast performances in the context of the DG legacy. So, for instance, the 1956 reading of Op.64 No.3 is more tightly charged than the later 1973 studio reading and so too is the slow movement of Op.64 No.4 from 1959. There’s just a little bit of an edge to the corporate sound in the November 1951 recording of Op.74 No.1 but it sounds altogether more committed than the tamer-sounding DG LP. I happen to find the tempo of this 1957 reading of the slow movement of The Rider, Op.74 No.3, preferable to the significantly slower but beautifully voiced DG. The group’s readings of Opp.76 and 77 were always amongst their very best and Op.76 No.1 is no exception. There’s little to choose between this 1960 performance and the commercial recording, as the slow movement is beautiful in both cases. The bucolic pizzicati in the succeeding Menuet work equally well here, as indeed does the buoyant and nobly conceived reading of the Emperor, recorded in April 1951. Like the studio performance, the slow movement of The Sunrise is quite expansive. Disc four reveals an Op.77 No.1 that’s slightly more mellow sounding than the shriller DG recording. Warmer, wittier and a lot less acidic this is a real improvement on that commercial legacy. Though the 1950 sound is not of the best, the performance of Op.77 No.2 is laudable with an especially touching and solemn close to the Andante. The Seven Last Words dates from December 1952 and its meditative beauties are perfectly conveyed in this reading. Note that an extended version with the German texts is available as a free download via Audite.

A well-crafted booklet, in German and English, reinforces the novelty of those three early quartets and the fact that all the performances are making their first ever commercial appearance here. All this makes this box of high importance to admirers of this august group.

C'est par ce sixième volume, intégralement consacré à Haydn, qu'Audite clôt sa prodigieuse série dédiée aux enregistrements du Quatuor Amadeus réalisés pour la RIAS entre 1950 et 1969. Inédites au disque, ces bandes ont enrichi de façon considérable la discographie du légendaire ensemble (cf. nOS 618, 622, 626, 631 et 654). Elles nous sont d'autant plus précieuses qu'on y découvre trois quatuors (Opus 9 nO 3, Opus 20 nO 5, Opus 33 nO 2) dont ils n'ont pas laissé de trace officielle au disque.

Bien que, dans ces témoignages de jeunesse (1951-1952), leur expression n'ait pas encore atteint son plein épanouissement, on y reconnaît déjà (presque) tout ce qui fera la légende des Amadeus : le vibrato de Brainin, leur science de l'agencement des voix et leur volupté instinctive à faire chanter les lignes, tout comme ce zeste d'impatience qui donne une formidable impulsion à leurs archets (finale de l'Opus 74 nO 1). Ces enregistrements ne présentent pas encore la touche d'abandon et la liberté si caractéristiques de leur maturité, mais déjà une poésie divinement organisée et une suprême justesse de goût. Comparaison et confirmation dans les deux versions (1950/1969) du miraculeux Adagio de l'Opus 54 nO 2, qui permettent de mesurer le chemin parcouru. En suivant le fil de ces interprétations, on réalise que l'évolution expressive fut rapide car dès le milieu des années 1950 (Opus 64 nO 3) on reconnaît la grâce, les touches de fantaisie (Menuetto) comme cette irrésistible façon de livrer leur émotion (Adagio) qui feront leur gloire. Plus on avance dans le temps plus leur signature devient claire (Opus 64 nO 4), par les timbres,les vibratos, la vocalité (Adagio) ou la manière de faire respirer les barres de mesure. Ecoutez notamment leur magistrale lecture de l'Opus 77, dans lesquels ils traduisent si clairement la transition entre les langages du XVIIIe et du XIXe siècles (le finale de l'Opus 77 nO 2 est époustouflant). C'est avec les Sept Paroles, dans une vision empreinte de grandeur et de solennité, captée deux ans après leur première gravure officielle pour Westminster, que se conclut cet envoûtant périple en nous laissant un sentiment d'éternité.

Haydns Streichquartette und das ‘Amadeus Quartett’, zwei Themen, die nicht so super zusammenpassen wollen. Die vier Musiker waren sich bewusst, dass Haydn zu spielen ein Seiltanz ist. Die Musik wirkt so einfach, und der oberflächliche Hörer meint, alle Quartette seien gleich. Der Experte weiß, dass jedes Quartett von Haydn einen eigenen Charakter hat.

Trotzdem hat das ‘Amadeus Quartett’ sich nur partiell mit Haydns Quartetten beschäftigt. Insbesondere die späten und reifen Werke wurden gespielt. Von den frühen Kompositionen wurden nur einzelne aufgeführt.

Für die vorliegenden Radioaufnahmen hat das Quartett etliche Stücke zum ersten Mal eingeübt und eingespielt. Insofern ist diese Kollektion ein interessantes historisches Dokument von besonderem Wert.

Die Interpretation ist dagegen aus heutiger Sicht nicht mehr so ganz aktuell. Natürlich legen die vier eine ausgefeilte Deutung vor, doch mit dem heutigen Wissen und den Entwicklungen durch die historisch informierte Aufführungspraxis sind wir an ein anderes Klangideal gewöhnt.

Am Beispiel des letzten Werkes, der ‘Sieben letzten Worte des Erlösers am Kreuze’, ist zu konstatieren, dass das Stück ohne den denkbaren Tiefgang und die Feinheit im Detail etwas zu öffentlichkeitswirksam gespielt wird. Wer das Glück hatte, das Abschiedskonzert des ‘Lindsay Quartet’ in Echternach vor 13 Jahren zu hören, der weiß, dass auch bei einem älteren Quartett eine wunderbar intime, private Deutung quasi mit Ausschluss des Publikums möglich war.

The Amadeus Quartet performs a selection of Haydn quartets. Some pieces were rehearsed and performed the first time by the Amadeus for this radio recording. But the performances are trapped in their time. Today, with all the knowledge provided by the historically informed playing, we are used to another sound ideal. Therefore, this collection is an essentially an interesting historic document.

Three more first-release recordings arrive via Audité’s latest volume of Deutschlandradio Kultur recordings by the Amadeus Quartet, this batch devoted entirely to Haydn, and including works that the Amadeus never recorded commercially: Opp 9/3, 20/5 and 33/2 (The Joke). For the last, the Amadeus cut a forceful profile in the scherzo and make an affectionate beeline for the gentle ‘joke’ at the close of the finale. Their playing of the F minor Quartet (Op 20/5) suggests implied parallels with Mozart’s G minor Quintet in the scherzo, while the lilting Adagio is given the loveliest reading imaginable. The C major Quartet Op 54 No 2 features a brief Adagio that can only be described as cantorial: the solo violin wails expressively over supportive chords, the effect not unlike the ‘beklemmt’ passage in Beethoven’s Cavatina (the Quartet Op 130). We’re given a complete recording of the Quartet from 1969 and that movement alone as recorded in 1950, both extraordinarily moving. Fifteen works are included overall (the majority originating in Haydn’s later period), including The Seven Last Words which is additionally available as a downloadable ‘extended version’ with German texts. An unmissable collection.

Des cinq coffrets que compte déjà cette passionante série (cf. nos 618, 622, 626, 631), et en attendant le dernier consacré à Haydn, le present volume s’impose comme le plus inattendu: il offer l’occasion inespérée d’entendre les Amadeus dans des oeuvres dont on ne leur connaissait aucun témoignage! Leur discographie ne comportant pas une seule note de Schumann, c’est dire l’émotion de voir surgir ces interpretations du Quintette avec piano et du Quatuor n° 3. Enfouies depuis des décennies dans les archives de la Radio berlinoise, elles garden tune fraicheur unique, n’ayant jamais servi de modèle à qui que ce soit. Ecoutez cet Opus 44, ardent et passionné, témoin de la sève de leurs jeunes années (1950), aux côtés de Conrad Hansen (élève puis assistant d’Edwin Fischer) dans une prise de son monophonique qui n’en perd pas un detail, avant de vous immerger dans le Quatuor en la majeur, sommet absolu de leur art (1962). Leur presence est si palpable qu’on jurerait étre assis au premier rang, l’oeil rive sur les archets, le soufflé coupé par cette liberté de ton. Et quelle ferveur dans les voix intérieures – l’alto de Peter Schidlof!

L’Adagio surpasse tout ce qu’on avait pu entendre jusque-lá. Aucune trace des Amadeus dans Mendelssohn, si ce n’est dans le bref Capriccio grave en 1955 chez HMV? C’était avant la découverte de cet Opus 12, partition d’un lyrisme radieux, captée en 1969.

Norbert Brainin s’en donne à coeur joie, usant de son vibrato inimitable, veritable signature de l’ensemble, nous entrainant dans l’élégance féerique, innocente ou pathétique, de cet univers si propre à son auteur.

Deux autres suprises nous attendant dans le dernier CD: le Quintette en la majeur de Dvorak dans une lecture particulièrement enjouée, puis une interprétation aussi personnelle que spectaculaire du Quatuor op. 27 de Grieg. Dans les autres oeuvres, on comparer aces capitations de jeunesse avec les gravures officielles, souvent très postérieures. C’est le cas du quatuor de Verdi, beaucoup plus tendui ici en 1962 que dans la gravure DG tardive de 1979. Tous dates des années 1950, leurs Brahms sont aussi fervents que touchants dans ces bandes de Radio réalisées sans montage, qui leur laissent exprimer tant de spontanéité. On reste envoûté dans l’Allegretto de l’opus 51 n° 1 ou dans l’Agitato de l’Opus 67, sans vouloir perdre une miette de l’Opus 34 ni du dialogue Brainin / Geuser dans l’Adagio de l’Opus 115, fascine par la complicité fusionnelle avec celui qu’on surnomma le cinquième home du quatuor, l’altiste Cecil Aronowitz (ne manqué surtout pas l’Adagio du Quintette en fa majeur de Bruckner).

Die mit der Folge ‘Romanticism’ fortgesetzte Reihe der Veröffentlichungen der RIAS-Aufnahmen des Amadeus Quartetts widmet sich in diesem fünften Konvolut mit sechs CDs der romantischen Musik. Dabei sind Brahms mit fünf Werken, Mendelssohn und Schumann mit jeweils zwei sowie Bruckner, Dvorak, Grieg und Verdi mit je einem Stück vertreten.

Als Besonderheiten dieser historischen Einspielungen kann man benennen, dass einige Stücke wie das Verdi-Quartett oder die Schumann-Werke vom Amadeus Quartett zwar im Konzertsaal gespielt, aber nie auf Platte aufgenommen wurden, sondern nur fürs Radio. Außerdem sind mit sechs der dreizehn Stücke viele Quintette eingespielt. Dabei haben sie für die Streichquintette auch hier auf ihren einzigen Partner in dieser Formation, Cecil Aronowitz, gesetzt.

Mit Heinrich Geuser, der mit seinem ausdrucksvollen Ton eine ganze Generation von jungen Klarinettisten geprägt hat, haben sie das Klarinettenquintett von Brahms eingespielt. Als Pianisten für die Klavierquintette haben sie Conrad Hansen gewählt und sind damit von ihrem üblichen Partner Clifford Curzon abgewichen. Auch Hansen konnte auf eine reiche Solisten- und Lehrtätigkeit zurückblicken.

Das Quartett hat in den vierzig Jahren seines Zusammenspiels mit konstanter Besetzung eine Harmonie und ein tiefes Verständnis füreinander entwickelt. Obwohl die Aufnahmen teilweise schon wenige Jahre nach Gründung des Quartetts entstanden sind, ist dieses enge Miteinander in allen Aufnahmen zu hören. Die Romantik wird hier wohlklingend warm gezeichnet. Das führt allerdings nicht dazu, dass auch nur ein Moment langweilig oder routiniert klingt. Man spürt immer das Engagement und Intensität. Selbst das Grieg Quartett, das man auch schon disparater gehört hat, klingt schön, aber eben nicht spannungslos. Vor dem Hintergrund, dass die Aufnahmen ohne die Möglichkeit der Nachbesserungen wie unter Konzertbedingungen aufgenommen worden sind, offenbart sich die Meisterschaft des Ensembles umso mehr.

The Amadeus Quartet’s performances are enthralling and show one of the great quartets of the second half of the last century in perfect togetherness and with total commitment.

Johnson: “But it is clear from a study of these quartets (K.168 – 73) that Haydn had a steadying, calming, and deepening effect on Mozart’s chamber music style, without in any way diminishing his natural effervescence. The two final works in the group, K.172 and K.173, are among the most perfect he wrote, violins, viola, and cello wreathing into each other with magical grace, so that it seems at times as though the four players are working one gigantic integrated instrument.” Also: “The king of Prussia got a magnificent String Quartet in D Major (K.575). The other “Haydn” and “Prussian” Quartets get mention only in passing (“In his last string quartet, K.590 of 1790, he gives some splendid solos to the viola, demanding great virtuosity but showing off the tremendous resources of the instrument, especially in the chromatic passages”), but they are – even if one concedes that the quartets are, as a genre, not as strong in Mozart’s output as, say, his quintets and trios – such important and wonderful works, they need to be included. Aside, they are so easily had together.

I would, without the least bit of hesitation, recommend the set of the impeccably and inspired playing Quatuor Mosaïques (which came out of Nikolaus Harnoncourt’s Concentus Musicus). Their recordings of Haydn and Mozart set a standard for original instrument performances and elevated the genre from niche to mainstream. Alas, these recordings are always in and out of print and the Naïve label seems to re-issue them only piecemeal or when the Amazon price for used copies has reached $500. Keep your eyes peeled. Meanwhile, the modern instrument Klenke Quartet(t)’s liveliness and precision in sparkling renditions equally set a very high standard indeed. For old-world Mozartean beauty, there’s little that goes beyond the Amadeus Quartet, whose box of early recordings on Audite would make a splendid recommendation, alas I try to stay away from catch-all boxes. On the other side, that set includes most of the String Quintets and the Clarinet Quintet, too… which makes for a whole lot of essential Mozart in one place. Although I don’t easily fall in love with the Emerson Quartet’s Mozart (and their classical repertoire performances in general), the undeniable quality and convenience of their recording of the last three quartets gives them the nod here. There’s an air of disinfectant to the affair, but not unlike the Hagen Quartet’s ‘X-Ray’ vision in late Beethoven, the total neatness has intriguing merits all of its own. As for the early quartets, there are not many recordings outside of yet more boxes where they can be found (the Hagen Quartet recordings on DG are out of print), but fortunately the Éder Quartet performances on Naxos are very enjoyable, indeed, with a bit of a boom and broadness to them, that make these quartets sound perhaps a little more mature, still, than they are.

Celebrated for their performances of the Viennese Classics, the Amadeus Quartet dominated the British chamber music scene for over 40 years and was one of the most respected ensembles of the twentieth century. The Quartet championed the music of their contemporaries, and for the radio they recorded string quartets written by the major English composers of their time, Benjamin Britten and Michael Tippett. The Hungarian composer Mátyás Seiber introduced the Amadeus Quartet to the works of his fellow countryman Béla Bartók. By recording Henry Purcell’s string fantasias, they followed references between Britten and the cradle of English chamber music. For volume IV in the RIAS Amadeus Quartet Recordings series the ensemble plays twentieth century Hungarian andd English works. The Baroque composer Henry Purcell is also represented - as a reference point for Benjamin Britten’s Second String Quartet. This edition substantially broadens the view of the Amadeus Quartet and demonstrates the inquisitiveness and assuredness with which Norbert Brainin and his three colleagues explored the music of their contemporaries. Under the direction of Michael Tippett, a group of young composers, including Mátyás Seiber and Peter Racine Fricker, wrote new string quartets for the Amadeus Quartet. Apart from Michael Tippett, it was first and foremost Benjamin Britten who, around 1950, established his reputation as Britain’s most renowned composer. His Second String Quartet was conceived as a reminiscence of Henry Purcell, a progenitor of English music, for the 250th anniversary of his death. Two of Purcell’s string fantasias and a chaconne, on which Britten had based his work, have therefore been included in this edition, and are released for the first time in the Amadeus Quartet’s interpretation. The Hungarian composer Mátyás Seiber - who, like the members of the Amadeus Quartet, had to emigrate to Britain after the Nazis had seized power in Germany - wrote his Quartetto lirico in the spirit of the Viennese School, particularly that of Alban Berg. He also championed the string quartets of Béla Bartók, whose Fourth and Sixth Quartets are also available for the first time as performances by the Amadeus Quartet. Audite’s excellent series of RIAS Amadeus Quartet Recordings is scheduled to include six volumes, exclusively presenting performances released for the first time on CD. As always, the ensemble’s performances on this two-disc set of recordings from 1950-1956 demonstrate superb musicianship as well as the Amadeus Quartet’s customary warmth and exuberance.

Captured variously between 1950 and 1956, the Amadeus compensate for the occasional rough edge with gripping musical intensity in Britten's and Tippett's Second Quartets and Bartók's Fourth and Sixth.

Japanische Rezension siehe PDF!

One of my fondest concert memories from the late 1960s is of hearing the Amadeus Quartet in recital at a north London school playing Bartok's Fourth Quartet, a work that on first acquaintance thrilled me to the core, though my first record of the work – a very different sort of performance – was by the original Fine Arts Quartet (Saga LP, Music & Arts CD). Sadly the Amadeus never recorded a Bartok cycle so the appearance in the fourth volume of Audite's collection of the quartet's 'RIAS recordings' of the Fourth and Sixth Quartets, both recorded a good decade before I saw that Hampstead performance, is particularly valuable.

The second CD opens with Matyas Seiber's Third Quartet, Quartetto lirico, which is noticeably influenced by Bartok, the Sixth Quartet especially, and the Amadeus play it marvellously well. The opening minute or so of Bartok's Fourth sounds a little uncertain: the pizzicato Scherzo is rather measured and the wildcat finale lacks the sort of animal vigour that the Juilliards, the Veghs and indeed the Fine Arts brought to It. The performance's highlight is Martin Lovett's passionately rhapsodic cello solo in the slow third movement. The Sixth's first movement is at times rhythmically ambiguous, as if the players were just a few short steps short of mastering its form, whereas they're nearer the target in the dry, even OTT humour that fills the two middle movements. Best by far is the closing Mesto, music filled with profound sadness, a sadness that the quartet members, or the three of them who had been exiled from Europe, will have felt as deeply as the composer himself. Ironically it's the all-British first disc that finds them truly in their element, the Second Quartets of Britten and Tippett, music they seem to connect with intuitively. Both performances are memorably expressive.

Nach der Aufarbeitung der Wiener Klassik (Mozart, Beethoven und Schubert) widmet sich die jüngste Veröffentlichung historischer Aufnahmen des ‘Amadeus Quartett’ dem britischen und ungarischen Repertoire des 20. Jahrhunderts. Auf CD 1 sind jeweils das 2. Quartett von Britten und Tippett eingespielt sowie drei Werke von Henry Purcell.

CD 2 beinhaltet das ‘Quartetto lirico’ von Matyas Seiber und die Quartett 4 und 6 von Bela Bartok. Wir befinden uns in Zeiten des Umbruchs nach zwei Weltkriegen, die die Menschheit komplett aus dem Gleichgewicht geworfen und die Suche nach neuen kulturellen Referenzen und Orientierungen unabdingbar gemacht hat.

Sämtliche eingespielten Kompositionen sind Zeugnisse dieser Suche, die dennoch nie ganz ohne Referenzen an die klassisch-romantische Tradition – bei Britten sogar an die Barockzeit – auskommt.

Das ‘Amadeus Quartett’ deutet diese Nachklänge zerbrochener Welten mit fesselnder musikalischer Tiefe – manchmal scharfzüngig, vorwiegend jedoch zart, mit fiebriger Intensität (z.B. das wunderbare Cello-Solo im 4. Bartok-Quartett). Zieht man zudem die Aufnahmebedingungen in Betracht – ein quasi Live-Mitschnitt ohne die Möglichkeit kosmetischer Nachbesserungen – liefern diese hervorragend überarbeiteten Studio-Aufnahmen aus den 50er Jahren einen weiteren Beweis der Ausnahmestellung des Amadeus Quartett.

Gripping performances of unusual musical insight and depth.

Du Mozart des Amadeus, l'honnête mélomane sait déjà tout. Que dire alors du fidèle lecteur de Diapason, dont le magazine favori redorait l'intégrale réalisée pour DG (cf. na 600), et glissait quelques documents contemporains de ceux-ci dans le premier coffret de sa «Discothèque idéale»…

Comme on s'y attendait, les quatuors enregistrés entre 1950 et 1955 pour le RIAS diffèrent peu des gravures ultérieures. Du style et de la conception des pièces, tout ou presque semble fixé sous les archets de la jeune équipe. On y entend déjà les quatre compères tout en fraîcheur, en lyrisme lumineux (merci Norbert Brainin), en tendresse, en cohésion et en subtilité (les voix «internes»!), mais avec quelques années de moins qu'en stéréo – comprenez: avec parfois un rien de vigueur supplémentaire dans le coup d'archet. Et à ceci près que les micros de la radio nous rapprochent à ce point des cordes que l'on croit presque parfois pouvoir sentir l'odeur de la colophane. On en vit d'autant mieux chaque frémissement. En toute intimité.

Même constat pour les quintettes de 1953 et 1957 (le na 6) avec Cecil Aronowitz, cinquième membre du quatuor. Si ce n'est que cette photo de jeunesse les flatte plus que celle, bien connue, réalisée pour le label à l'étiquette jaune entre 1968 et 1975. Tout ici sonne de manière p lus resserrée, plus fusionnelle et plus vivante – en dépit de quelques tempos un rien plus lents.

Pas une once de vibrato dans le jeu du clarinettiste Heinrich Geuser qui les rejoint pour le KV 581 (normal chez un germanique, qui plus est en 1952). Les prodigieux Amadeus, eux, ne changent rien au leur. Et comparé à la version de 1976 avec Gervase de Peyer, c'est le printemps – dans l'Allegro, surtout! Décidément irrésistible.

The Amadeus Quartet recorded all the Mozart 'Haydn ' and 'Prussian' Quartets for RIAS in Berlin between 1950 and 1953 , along with the Clarinet Quintet with Heinrich Geuser in 1952 and the String Quintets, K515, 516, 593 and 614, with Cecil Aronowitz in 1953 and 1957 . These performances are more or less contemporary with the studio versions released by DC in a box of 1950s Amadeus Quartet Mozart (474 0002, now download only), which included some of this ensemble's freshest and most unaffected playing. Now Audite has released the RIAS radio recordings of virtually the same repertoire. These are similarly marvellous and in amazing sound (as usual Audite has achieved astonishing results with the master tapes), which is at least as good as that of the DG records from the period. Anyone troubled by the later Amadeus style (including a tendency to over-phrase) and the occasional unpredictability of Norbert Brainin's tone will surely warm to these performances as I did (l prefer their greater spontaneity to the DG stereo studio set). With an interesting note as well as superb remastering this is an exceptional Mozart collection (Audite 21.427, five discs, 5 hours 34 minutes).

The third instalment of Audite's Amadeus Quartet recordings, all of them taken from Berlin RIAS broadcasts and dating from the period 1951-57, covers works already available in the Quartet's capable hands, principally in later (stereo) recordings available from DG. Comparisons reveal an impressive level of interpretative consistency, more spontaneous early on perhaps, and with most principal first-movement repeats omitted.

Most of the differences concern the sound quality, which on these RIAS tapes is appealingly intimate. Take Quartet No 18, K464, the opening Allegro, where, as presented here, dynamic contrasts tell with expressive impact but on DG, where the balance suggests listening from the rear of a medium-size concert hall, the effect is less immediate. In this instance the stereo 'pay-off' is minimal compared to the advantage of having the players sound as if they're in the room with you. And with playing as musically sympathetic and stylistically 'on the button' as we're offered here, who can complain?

Viewed overall there is some extraordinarily beautiful playing on offer: the heart-stopping Adagio from the Quintet in D major, K593, with Cecil Aronowitz, for example. The opening of the C major Quintet, K515, is perfection, an amiable but lively Allegro with a spring to its step, while the dialogue with Aronowitz in the Andante could hardly be bettered. And then there's the tragic Adagio that opens the finale of the G minor Quintet, K516, so full of implied regret. The performance of the Clarinet Quintet with Heinrich Geuser is another highlight. I'm not suggesting you replace your DG versions but you could profitably use these marvellous recordings as musically nourishing supplements to them. Superb transfers.

Japanische Rezension siehe PDF!

En 1951, le Quatuor Amadeus, fondé quatre ans plus tôt, grave son premier disque. Au programme: l'ultime Sol majeur de Schubert. On en découvre ici un témoignage plus ancien: capté le 9 juin 1950, c'est le doyen du coffret et son fleuron. Ce qui fait la particularité de ces bandes de la RIAS berlinoise? Une dose d'adrénaline supplémentaire liée aux circonstances de jeu, une certaine forme de fragilité touchante, une sauvagerie juvénile, et des contrastes plus marqués. Mais une conception d'ensemble qui annonce globalement les enregistrements estampillés DG. Seule exception, le D 87 en mi bémol majeur creuse ici davantage le fossé expressif entre les mouvements, en proposant notamment un Adagio plus retenu.

Le premier volume de la série Audite remportait un Diapason d'or haut la main (Beethoven, cf. n° 618). Pourquoi en priver celui-ci, où l'archet de Norbert Brainin nous tient par la magnificence de son chant (écoutez «Rosamunde»)? A cause de quelques passages pas suffisamment dégrossis, et parce que, malgré ses beautés, cette «Jeune Fille et la mort» de 1954, présentée dans la notice comme le sommet de cette édition, ne supplante ni n'égale les deux versions ultérieures – celle de 1959 nous ébranle tout autrement. Pas besoin cependant de cotiser au fan-club des Amadeus pour noter l'importance de ces documents: l'émotion est la plupart du temps au rendez-vous. Les schubertiens débutants commenceront donc par consulter le catalogue du label à l'étiquette jaune. Les autres «approfondiront» avec cet excellent addendum à une discographie inestimable.

The second tranche of RIAS recordings of the Amadeus Quartet concentrates on another composer most dear to the group’s collective heart, Schubert. It is therefore much less extensive than the Beethoven box which was almost complete in its reach (see review); this set, by comparison, has only two CDs. The Amadeus performed regularly for RIAS during the quartet’s Berlin visits, of which there were many. The earliest Schubert to be set down for the expert engineers was the Op. posth. G major, D.887, recorded in June 1950. The most recent is the G minor, D.173, taped in December 1964. There are five quartets, and they include Death and the Maiden and Rosamunde.

As in that Beethoven set we are confronted by an infusion of a parallel discography, an appendix of broadcast material to the main body of the quartet’s studio, commercial discography. And it has to be said that there are very few striking deviations from expected expressive norms in these five quartets. Tempi are often very similar, and the music’s development is largely a mirror of the studio performances, so that when there is a deviation it seems like a vast anomaly. I can really only cite the slow movement of D.87 which the Amadeus play for RIAS in a much slower and more prayerful way than in their later studio inscription. The RIAS way has just a hint of hymnal piety about it. Otherwise the quartet performance has sufficient charm in the outer movements and burst of vigour in the Scherzo. The 1956 Rosamunde is very similar indeed to the 1951 studio recording and maybe it’s only in the bringing out of the inner voicings that you can tell that the adrenalin of a live performance generates slightly more heat – that ability to balance the quartet so well is also a RIAS technical matter, of course. Throughout, the balance and sound is extremely fine.

The only salient difference between the RIAS and studio Death of the Maiden concerns the finale, which is taken slower in Berlin than in the commercial LP. It makes little real difference as the performance itself convinces however they take it; there is a rich, ripe tone from top to bottom and the interpretation is searching and wholly convincing on its own terms. The broadest performance is that of D.887 but, again, speeds never drag and there is a wholly communicative interplay at work and a very special sound world that the foursome captures. It elevates these performances, and their studio confreres, to the status of being amongst the finest Schubert quartet performances of the 1950s.

If you have the group’s studio inscriptions you will not find that there is any real interpretative divergence from these RIAS broadcasts. They are too close in time, and the group’s tonal qualities remain consonant. Broadcast material from a decade later would have shown lengthening shadows, but here the quartet is near its peak. As I said, the recording quality and subsequent re-mastering is first-class, as are the booklet notes.

Nach der sieben CDs umfassenden Beethooven-Box vom vergangenen Sommer hat das Label Audite nun die zweite Folge seiner Edition mit dem Amadeus Quartet veröffentlicht. Sie enthält einige Schubert-Aufnahmen des legendären Ensembles, die zwischen 1950 und 1964 für den Berliner RIAS entstanden sind.

Die früheste Einspielung ist - wie schon bei Beethoven - zugleich auch die wildeste. In der Interpretation des großen G-Dur-Quartetts aus dem Jahr 1950 lassen die damals noch sehr jungen Streicher die Kontraste schroff aufeinanderprallen. Sie bohren die steilen Crescendi im ersten Satz wie Schmerzensstachel ins Fleisch der Musik; im rasanten Finale stürmen sie mitunter beinahe atemlos voran.

Gegen diese aufwühlende Darbietung wirken die anderen Aufnahmen etwas blasser. Im Quartett "Der Tod und das Mädchen" - im Booklet-Text als Höhepunkt der Edition gelobt - bleiben etwa die Steigerungen im Kopfsatz vergleichsweise brav, ebenso wie manche Passagen im Andante. Das Scherzo bewegt sich einen Tick zu schwerfällig, bevor erst im Schlusssatz wieder jenes jugendliche Feuer lodert, das den besonderen Reiz der frühen Amadeus-Interpretationen ausmacht.

Neben dem Temperament und der überschäumenden Virtuosität beeindruckt das Ensemble durch seinen warmen Klang und eine dichte Legato-Kultur. Wie schön der Primarius Nobert Brainin auf seinem Instrument singen konnte, zeigt er etwa zu Beginn des "Rosamunde"-Quartetts. Dass er den Klang mitunter recht deutlich dominiert und nicht alle Kollegen so stringent phrasieren wie er, gehört zu den Schwachpunkten der Rundfunkproduktionen, die unser Bild vom Amadeus Quartet gleichwohl sehr schön ergänzen.

japanische Rezension siehe PDF

The Amadeus Quartet recorded this Beethoven cycle in RIAS broadcasts in the 1950s and 60s, at the peak of their long career. While modern in most respects the four voices are more distinct than is now the fashion; leader Norbert Brainin is particularly prominent. There is also more interpretation, Beethoven being made to sigh, skip, and shout with untrammeled abandon as if the scores were being interpreted biographically, as was often the case in earlier times. This is all to the good if you prefer warmly emotional performances. The recorded sound is also warm and appealing.

Between 1950 and 1967 the Amadeus Quartet were taped by RIAS, Berlin in an almost-complete Beethoven quartet cycle. Missing is the Quartet No. 10 in E flat major, Op. 74 ‘The Harp’, though as substantial compensation we have a performance of the String Quintet in C major, Op.29 with a favourite string colleague, violist Cecil Aronowitz. One performance is anomalous. The Op.127 Quartet was not recorded in the RIAS studio but in the Hochschüle für Musik in Berlin - though no reason is advanced as to its exclusion from the normal radio broadcast schedule. It’s the most recent taping, as well, coming from 1967, five years after many of the other preserved quartets. Maybe it was a coincidence that both omitted works are in E flat major.

Only a couple years after its official formation, the Amadeus was touring widely in Germany. The first tapes were made at the Siemensvilla in Lankwitz in the city, to which venue the quartet returned whenever it performed in Berlin. In a see-sawing operation studio sessions for DG were accompanied by visits to Lankwitz for RIAS sessions. Altogether the quartet recorded a mouth-watering 23 sessions for RIAS between 8 June 1950 – when it set down Tippett’s Quartet No.2 – and June 1969 when works by Haydn and Mendelssohn were played. This is a formidable portfolio of radio broadcast material and given the excellence of RIAS in this area, presided over by Elsa Schiller, who was soon to work for DG – taking a stable of eminent performers with her – the results technically speaking can be guaranteed.

So, fortunately, in this case, can the high interpretative level of the performances. There is no dip in the intensity and tonal breadth generated by the foursome and if the results differ little from the studio legacy, there are certainly a few moments when the music takes off in a more memorable way.

Perhaps the clearest difference between the RIAS and the DG inscriptions comes in the case of the slow movement of Op.132 where the Amadeus prefer, for RIAS, a slightly slower tempo and a slightly more veiled tonal quality. Otherwise whilst interpretative differences are few, the inevitable tensions of live performance ensure that the music remains visceral and full of profitable tension. The 1962 sessions show the familiar breath and warmth of tone, a rich wash that some adore and others find too indulgent. For the first time, as well, it’s now possible to trace two complementary readings of the Beethoven quartets from the Amadeus, albeit with the exclusion of ‘The Harp’, as noted.

I suppose the important question for someone yet to acquire the Amadeus’s Beethoven is this: apart from the matter of Op.74, are there any interpretative or recording concerns with this Audite box, sufficient to make the DG box an obvious favourite? I would have to answer ‘no’ in both respects. RIAS recorded their ensembles, singers and instrumentalists superbly from the get-go and these recordings are no different. If you can live without Op.74 I don’t see why you shouldn’t take the plunge with this ‘live’ set of the quartets. It is in every respect a superb achievement.

Last June Audite celebrated ist fortieth birthday. Based in Detmold, Germany, this label has built up a remarkable catalogue of carefully remastered historical recordings, especially from German broadcast archives, using radio tapes. The anniversary was an appropriate time for Audite to introduce a new series if historical recordings – The Lucerne Festival Historic Performances, in cooperation with the famous Swiss festival, which was founded in 1938. The series started with three outstanding concert recordings of artists including Clara Haskil, Otto Klemperer, Robert Casadesus, Dimitri Mitropoulos, Isaac Stern, Ernest Ansermet, Lorin Maazel and George Szell. The latest release is dedicated “in memoriam” to Claudio Abbado, who died on 20 January at the age of 80. Abbado was closely connected with the Lucerne Festival for nearly five decades, and he was responsible for the revival of the Lucerne Festival Orchestra, which immediately became one of the best symphony orchestras of the world under his baton. Some live performances on DVD are impressive in showing Abbado’s highly sensitive musi making with this orchestra. A new CD from Audite couples Schubert’s Symphony No. 8 “Unfinished”, played by the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 2 and Wagner’s Siegfried Idyll with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, recorded at the Lucerne Festival of 1978 and 1988. These are impressive live performances that should not be missed by all who admire this great conductor (Φ 95.627).

String Quartet enthusiasts will be interested in Audite’s Volume 2 of RIAS’ recordings of the Amadeus Quartet. The new two-disc set is dedicated to Schubert, the Quartets No. 9 , 10 and 13-15, all recorded at the Siemensvilla in Berlin between 1950 and 1964. Schubert was always at the centre of the Amadeus’s repertoire, and its performances of this composer set a standard for others in those days (two discs; Φ 21.428). Piano enthusiasts will seck a two-disc set profiling the American pianist Julius Katchen. Katchen, who died in 1969 at the early age of 42, was especially known as an interpreter of Brahms and Liszt. These recordings were taped in two sessions in Berlin in 1962 and 1964. They are of special interest because some of the works played are new to the pianist’s discography – Beethoven’s 32 Variations in C minor, WoO80, Chopin’s Ballade, Op. 47, the Nocturenes Op. 9 No. 1 and Op. 27 No. 2 and Berceuse, Op. 57 as well as the Liszt Sonata in B minor, works in which Katchen demonstrates his qualities as a sensitive poet and virtuoso par excellence (two discs; Φ 21.419). […]

Hinter jedem Lachen steckt auch eine Träne – diese Dualität ist besonders charakteristisch für die Musik von Franz Schubert. Auf eine heitere Volksmelodie folgt meist ein Blick in seelische Abgründe. Franz Schubert hat es, wie kaum ein anderer, verstanden, die beiden Facetten einer Medaille derart plastisch in Noten zu fassen. Diese Noten auch dementsprechend zum Klingen zu bringen, das ist die hohe Kunst, die das Amadeus-Quartett ohne jeden Zweifel beherrscht.

Man bleibt nicht unberührt, nicht gleichgültig bei diesen packenden, fesselnden Interpretationen mit ihrer Vielschichtigkeit in der Dramaturgie und in den Klangfarben. Jeder noch so kleine Notenwert, jedes Rubato, jede Pause sind deutlich hörbar Teil meisterlicher musikalischer Inszenierungen. Erschütternde Dramatik, aufwühlende Emotionalität einerseits, unbeschwerte Lebensfreude und erfrischende Lyrik andererseits: Die Amadeus-Musiker führen beide Extreme fast unmerklich immer wieder zu einer Einheit zusammen, denn die Licht- und die Schattenseiten, sie sind letztendlich der Mensch.

Certainly, no listener will remain unaffected by these fascinating performances. The Amadeus Quartet combines quivering drama, high emotionality, joy of life and refreshing lyricism in order to show the bright and the dark sides of Schubert’s music.

As part of their excavating activities at the RIAS tapes, the Audite label has now come up with a very nearly complete* Beethoven string quartet cycle from the famed, great Amadeus Quartet, recorded between 1950 and 1967**. In a sense this is hardly a re-release, but a first-time-ever issue on CD. Still, a half-century old recording seems a better fit under re-issues, so here it is.

What makes the set stand out is the Amadeus Quartet’s complete command of that chamber-music feel: the musicians—headed but not dominated by Norbert Brainin—become one organism that finds its expression through Beethoven (in this case). The fact that each movement of every work has been recorded in one continuous take only helps with this impression of a continuous arch and development. Warmth and an eager tension are combined to great results, leaving plenty younger interpretations that take the either athletic-Olympic approach or a merely beauticious one well behind.

There’s no need to pretend that many modern string quartets haven’t even greater technical mastery today. Or that recording quality hasn’t considerably improved*** (admittedly pointless when it’s voided via mp3 or poor streaming). Or that there aren’t select quartets which have just as much artistic and musical urgency and expressiveness. The qualities that make the Amadeus Quartet in Beethoven great are still most appreciable today: Among the great historic cycles, this is one that Beethoven lovers will immediately embrace alongside the first Budapest and second Végh cycles (more of the latter soon or above) as their go-to choices for old-world nostalgic beauty and musical insight.


* Only the “Harp Quartet” No.10, op.74 is missing, but to fill the void the String Quintet op.29 (with Cecil Aronowitz) is added. The Grosse Fuge is performed separately from op.130, as on their slightly later, fine but less vigorous, studio DG set.

** Really 1950 through 1962; only op.127 stems from 1967

*** The sound quality of these re-masterings off the original high speed analogue tapes are actually of superb quality and far better than anything one would ever expect from to hear from recordings that old.

koreanische Rezension siehe PDF!

At various stages in their long career the Amadeus Quartet have remained remarkably consistent interpretation-wise, but this doesn't mean that hearing them play single works more than once constitutes musical repetition. Interestingly, Audite's second instalment of their RIAS recordings marks some clear contrasts with commercial sessions recorded for DG at around the same time. On this Schubert set, the main items are Death and the Maiden (1954; generally more genial than the Abbey Road recording for DG made the previous year), the Rosamunde Quartet (a warmly yielding performance – a prime sampling of the Amadeus at this period) and, most impressive of all, the late G major (D887), recorded in 1950 and more strikingly dramatic than its famous DG successor of the following year. Perhaps the most marked difference is with the little E flat Quartet (D87), specifically the Adagio, which between 1951 (Audite) and 1955 (DG) speeds up by a full minute. I much prefer the earlier version. Also included in Audite's set is the G minor, D173, its Andantino second movement taking a fairly blatant look back to Mozart's Eine kleine Nachtmusik. The finale is particularly crisp in execution, though the track indicator starts a millisecond after the music. Good sound, and useful notes, too.

L’événement est de taille! Une série de six coffrets, qui réunira tous les enregistrements des Amadeus réalisés pour la RIAS dès 1950, s'ouvre sur cette somme beethovénienne gravée bien avant leur célèbre intégrale pour DG.

A l'exception du Quatuor op. 127, tous les autres furent captés entre juin 1950 et novembre 1962. L'ensemble (sans l'Opus 74) est passionnant; la qualité des transferts offre une présence presque palpable aux musiciens comme aux instruments . On est ému de reconnaître dès cette époque presque tout ce qui fera la légende des Amadeus, le Vibrato de Brainin, la volupté unique avec laquelle ils laissent chanter les lignes et cette miraculeuse science de l'agencement des voix.

En les confrontant à leurs témoignages ultérieurs, les plus attentifs remarqueront çà et là un moindre abandon dans les phrasés (Adagio op. 18 no2, Allegro op. 59 no2), une texture plus serrée et des archets plus incisifs (Allegrello op. 59 no1). C'est surtout par le caractère un peu plus démonstratif de leur virtuosité et par la vigueur de l'accentuation que cette lecture s'avérera révélatrice de leur jeunesse (finales des Opus 18 no1 et 59 no2, Allegro assai vivace ma serioso op. 95), car même dans les bandes les plus anciennes, la maturité et la pureté du ton forcent l'admiration.

La redécouverte de ces prises de radio, où se reflète plus naturellement la spontanéité d'une interprétation qu'un enregistrement de studio, est doublée d'une publication exemplaire, enrichie d'un texte de présentation parfaitement centré sur le sujet.

Beethovens Quartette in neuer Lektüre und im historischen Rückblick: Audite wagt die Konfrontation im eigenen Haus. Nachdem es seine neue Gesamtaufnahme mit dem ‘Quartetto di Cremona’ gestartet hat, legt das Label nun historische Einspielungen mit dem Amadeus Quartet vor. Das Amadeus Quartet – das sind 40 Jahre Kammermusik-Geschichte, in denen das Quartett Maßstäbe gesetzt hat. Quasi alle wichtigen Zyklen haben die vier Musiker in Gesamtaufnahmen vorgelegt – darunter auch die Beethoven-Quartette bei DG.

Die jetzt im RIAS-Archiv entdeckten Aufnahmen sind älteren Datums, interpretatorisch aber keineswegs aus der Mottenkiste. Das Amadeus-Quartett spielt sehr modern. Man verzichtet auf klassisches Ebenmaß und setzt stattdessen auf scharfe Kontraste mit einem zu Teil sehr kantigen und schroffen Ton, der dem Querdenker Beethoven wohl gefallen haben dürfte. Es ist Musik aus einem Guss, Musik voller Leidenschaft, die den Zuhörer direkt anspricht und packt.

Man darf schon jetzt auf die nächsten Ausgrabungen gespannt sein.

This is the first volume in a series of six with radio recordings of the famous Amadeus Quartet made between 1950 and 1967. We experience almost the same passion, the same modernity of approach like in the DG studio recordings, with a supplement of spontaneity and excitement due to the live character of the recordings. Here we are definitely on the way for a series of major treats.

Chinesische Rezension siehe PDF!

Beethovens Quartette in neuer Lektüre und im historischen Rückblick: Audite wagt die Konfrontation im eigenen Haus. Nachdem es seine neue Gesamtaufnahme mit dem 'Quartetto di Cremona' gestartet hat, legt das Label nun historische Einspielungen mit dem Amadeus Quartet vor. Das Amadeus Quartet – das sind 40 Jahre Kammermusik-Geschichte, in denen das Quartett Maßstäbe gesetzt hat. Quasi alle wichtigen Zyklen haben die vier Musiker in Gesamtaufnahmen vorgelegt – darunter auch die Beethoven-Quartette bei DG.

Die jetzt im RIAS-Archiv entdeckten Aufnahmen sind älteren Datums, interpretatorisch aber keineswegs aus der Mottenkiste. Das Amadeus-Quartett spielt sehr modern. Man verzichtet auf klassisches Ebenmaß und setzt stattdessen auf scharfe Kontraste mit einem zum Teil sehr kantigen und schroffen Ton, der dem Querdenker Beethoven wohl gefallen haben dürfte. Es ist Musik aus einem Guss, Musik voller Leidenschaft, die den Zuhörer direkt anspricht und packt.

Man darf schon jetzt auf die nächsten Ausgrabungen gespannt sein.

Now 40 years old, the Audite label, based in Detmold in Germany, has built up a remarkable catalogue of classical recordings. Audiophile connoisseurs can find many new recordings of the highest standards on Audite SACDs, as well as a steadily growing number of carefully remastered historical recordings, especially from German broadcasting archives – the former RIAS for example. It is important to stress that Audite has access to original tapes, and so the sound quality on its editions is better than on unlicensed versions of the same performances from second-generation sources available elsewhere.

On 23 June the label celebrated its birthday in Berlin. This was a convenient opportunity to introduce a new series of historical recordings from the Luzern Festival, which was founded in 1938. In cooperation with Audite the Swiss Festival authorities are now releasing outstanding concert recordings of great artists who have shaped its history and tradition. Most of the recordings are previously unreleased, and come from the archive of Swiss Radio and Television (SRF), which has regularly broadcast events from the Luzern Festival. The first three CDs are newly available, and they are real highlights. Clara Haskil is the soloist in Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 20, KV 466, with Otto Klemperer conducting the Philharmonia Orchestra (1959). This wise, reflective reading is coupled with Beethoven’s Emperor Concerto, with Robert Casadesus and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra und Dimitri Mitropoulos, from 1957 (CD 95.623).

The second CD is dedicated to Isaac Stern. Live recordings with Stern are true rarities. At Luzern Festivals in 1956 and 1958 he played the Second Violin Concerto of Béla Bartók (1956) and the Tchaikovsky Concerto (1958). These are fiery and full-blooded interpretations. The Swiss Festival Orchestra is conducted respectively by Ernest Ansemet and Lorin Maazel, whose Festival debut this was (CD 95.624).

The third release is released in homage to George Szell, who conducts the Swiss Festival Orchestra in Brahms’s First Symphony (1962) and the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra in Dvorák’s Symphony No. 8, taped in 1969. There was always a special kind of chemistry between Czech performers and Dvorák. Every accent is in the right place, and the music comes directly from the heart. Nothing will go wrong here and when a conductor like Szell takes the baton something outstanding is likely to happen (CD 95.625).

A set of seven CDs from Audite is of special interest to chamber music enthusiasts and admirers of the Amadeus Quartet. From the beginning of its career this ensemble regularly came to the RIAS studios at Berlin, and over 20 years recorded a cross-section of its repertoire. Audite is releasing these documents in six volumes. The first is dedicated to Beethoven (CD 21.424). Between 1950 and 1967 the Amadeus Quartet recorded the whole cycle in Berlin, except Op. 74. The set is supplemented by the String Quintet, Op. 29, with viola player Cecil Aronowitz. Listeners have the opportunity here to follow the development and changes in the Amadeus style over a span of two decades. It is important to stress that all the movements were recorded in single unedited takes. It is interesting to have these Beethoven recordings as companions to the studio recordings made for DG by the Quartet between 1959 and 1963. […]

koreanische Rezension siehe PDF!

Just as numerous readers will have learned the greatest of all symphony cycles through one or other of Bruno WaIter's recordings, the Amadeus Quartet will have served a similar purpose for the greatest of all string quartet cycles. For me, and I'm sure for many, the Amadeus Quartet's DG set from the early Sixties remains more or less de rigueur, but now Audite has come up with a credible supplement, except that there's no Harp Quartet (Op. 74) and the version included of Op. 127 dates from some five years later than the last of the others, by which time lead violinist Norbert Brainin's vibrato was beginning to widen (though his intonation remained true). The remainder of the set was taped by RIAS ('Radio in the American Sector), between 1950 and 1962.

I was delighted to revisit this wonderful music as presented by expert guides who over the years I have grown to love and respect. One or two differences are worth noting. For example, the development section of Op. 18 No. 2's opening movement is more emphatically played than on the DG recording and the heavenly 'Heiliger Dankgesang' slow movement from Op. 132 is both marginally broader and darker-hued than on the DG alternative. Time and again one senses that the radio recordings capture an extra degree of spontaneity, in the 'middle' quartets especially, which, while in essence almost identical as interpretations to their commercially released alternatives, show greater eagerness when approaching key climaxes. There's a significant bonus by way of a memorable 1957 recording of the Op. 29 C major String Quintet, with Cecil Aronowitz playing second viola. This is the first volume in a series of six projected to cover, in addition to Beethoven, Schubert, Mozart, 'Modernism', Haydn and 'Romanticism'. We are in for a series of treats.

Das Label Audite, das im Juni sein 40-jähriges Bestehen feierte, präsentiert neben Eigenproduktionen immer wieder Aufnahmen aus deutschen Rundfunkarchiven. Eine äußerst verdienstvolle Schatzsuche, die schon viele großartige Tondokumente zu Tage gefördert hat. Viele stammen vom Berliner RIAS. Dessen legendäre Musikchefin Elsa Schiller hatte gute Kontakte und einen hervorragenden Riecher für Talente. Den bewies sie auch, als sie schon 1950 - nur drei Jahre nach dessen Gründung - das junge Amadeus-Quartett ins Studio nach Berlin holte. Dort war das Ensemble bis 1969 regelmäßig zu Gast und bannte einen Großteil seines Repertoires auf Band, darunter auch fast alle Beethoven-Quartette.

Die sind nun - klangtechnisch wie immer hervorragend aufbereitet - als Box bei Audite erschienen. Sie geben einen spannenden Einblick in die interpretatorische Handschrift und die Entwicklung des Amadeus-Quartetts.

Die früheste der Beethoven-Aufnahmen stammt von 1950 und ist dem Quartett op. 18,6 gewidmet. Schon im ersten Satz, einem munteren Allegro, zeigt sich die schäumende Energie der Streicher, die damals Mitte/Ende 20 waren. Der jugendliche Überschwang ist mit einer großen artikulatorischen Sorgfalt gepaart. Diese Verbindung prägt fast alle der frühen Einspielungen, ebenso wie der unverkennbare Ton von Norbert Brainin. Vor allem in den langsamen Sätzen spielt der Primarius mit jener beseelten Wärme, die gerne als "Wiener Espressivo" bezeichnet
wird. Wunderbar etwa das Adagio affettuoso ed appassionato aus dem 1951 aufgenommenen Quartett op. 18,1. Beeindruckend auch die spieltechnische Souveränität des Ensembles. Anders als heute üblich wurden die Sätze damals in einem Take aufgenommen. Gemessen daran ist die geringe Pannenquote verblüffend.

Mitunter musste sich das Amadeus-Quartett allerdings den Vorwurf der Glätte gefallen lassen. Wie der zustande kam, lässt sich etwa anhand der Einspielung des "Rasumowsky-Quartetts" op. 59,1 durchaus nachvollziehen (die ulkigerweise genau 1959 entstanden ist). Der Cellist Martin Lovett spielt das eröffnende Thema mit einem supersahnigen Legato ohne Ecken und Kanten, wie ein Sänger, der die Konsonanten weglässt. Solche Passagen sind ein bisschen zu schön, um wahr zu sein, und springen umso mehr ins Ohr, als der unwiderstehliche Elan der frühen Aufnahmen gelegentlich einer staatstragenden Gesetztheit weicht. Im Adagio von op. 59,1 wirkt das Tempo beispielsweise etwas starr; wie in manchen langsamen Sätzen.

Dort entsteht der Eindruck, als bleibe die Beethoven-Sicht des Amadeus-Quartetts ein wenig an der Oberfläche des Notentextes kleben. Auch und gerade in den späten Werken verströmt das Ensemble einen unbekümmerten musikantischen Charme. Der hat zwar fraglos seinen Reiz, wird aber der emotionalen Vielschichtigkeit der Musik nicht immer gerecht. Dass hier existenzielle Konflikte des Menschseins verhandelt werden, ist zu selten zu spüren.

Gleichwohl eine äußerst spannende Begegnung mit dem Amadeus-Quartett, das fraglos zu den größten Kammermusikensembles des 20. Jahrhunderts gehörte.

Jedem Kammermusik-Liebhaber ist das Amadeus-Quartett ein Begriff: 40 Jahre lang, von Ende der 40er bis Ende der 80er Jahre, hat das österreichisch-britische Ensemble Maßstäbe gesetzt. Die Gesamteinspielung der Beethoven-Quartette, erschienen bei der Deutschen Grammophon, gilt als Referenzaufnahme: sehr homogen, wunderschöner, satter Klang und eine abgeklärte Interpretation.

Umso überraschender, was das Label Audite und Deutschlandradio Kultur im RIAS-Archiv zutage gefördert und jetzt in einer CD-Box auf den Markt gebracht haben: Zwischen 1950 und 1967 hat das Amadeus Quartett nämlich auch beim RIAS fast alle Beethoven-Quartette eingespielt – und diese Aufnahmen klingen ganz anders.

Von Anfang an war das Amadeus-Quartett in verschiedenen Plattenstudios zuhause. Sehr sorgfältig geplante Aufnahmen sind da entstanden, Aufnahmen von manchmal fast unfassbarer Perfektion – etwas böse könnte man sagen: hochglanzpoliert. Die Einspielungen für den RIAS, den amerikanischen Rundfunk in Berlin, aus den 50er und 60er Jahren zeigen ein anderes Gesicht: Zwar halten sich die Musiker auch hier streng an den Notentext – das war eines ihrer Markenzeichen , aber das Klangbild ist rauer, oft auch zupackender und ursprünglicher. Bis auf zwei haben sie sämtliche Beethoven-Quartette beim RIAS aufgenommen, und außerdem ein selten gespieltes Stück: Beethovens einziges Streichquintett, Opus 29, entstanden zur selben Zeit wie die frühen Quartette.

1950, da war das Amadeus-Quartett noch ganz jung, erst ein paar Jahre vorher hatten sich die Geiger Norbert Brainin, Siegmund Nissel und Peter Schidloff zusammengefunden. Alle drei waren wegen ihrer jüdischen Abstammung 1938 aus Wien nach London emigriert, und sie begegneten sich ausgerechnet in einem Internierungslager für "enemy aliens", feindliche Ausländer. Nach ihrer Entlassung studierten sie bei dem großen Geiger Max Rostal, und der wurde zum Geburtshelfer des Quartetts. Peter Schidloff tauschte die Geige gegen die Bratsche, und der junge englische Cellist Martin Lovett wurde mit ins Boot geholt – er ist der einzige der vier, der heute noch lebt. 1948 gab das Quartett sein erstes offizielles Konzert, in einem der berühmtesten Säle der Welt, der Wigmore Hall in London – der Beginn einer großen Karriere, die erst mit dem Tod von Peter Schidloff 1987 endete.