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Beethoven: The Late String Quartets | 
 enlarge | Artists: Ludwig Van Beethoven, Takacs Quartet
Label: Decca
Category: Music
List Price: $50.98
Buy New: $29.97
You Save: $21.01 (41%)
New (35) Used (9) from $17.99
Rating:  17 reviews
Sales Rank: 9927
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 3
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 5.4 x 5 x 0.9
MPN: 000387502
UPC: 028947084921
EAN: 0028947084921
ASIN: B00067R3BG
Release Date: January 11, 2005
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Tracks:
Disc 1
| • | Maestoso - Allegro | | • | Adagio ma non troppo e molto cantabile | | • | Scherzando vivace | | • | Finale | | • | Adagio ma non troppo e molto espressivo | | • | Allegro molto vivace | | • | Allegro moderato | | • | Andante ma non troppo e molto cantabile - Piu mosso - Andante moderato e lusinghiero - Adagio - Allegretto - Adagio, ma non troppo e semplice - Allegretto | | • | Presto | | • | Adagio quasi un poco andante | | • | Allegro |
Disc 2
| • | Assai sostenuto - Allegro | | • | Allegro ma non tanto | | • | Heiliger Dankgesang e.Genesenden an die Gottheit, in der lydischen Tonart.Molto adagio -. Andante - Molto adagio - Andante - Molto adagio. | | • | Alla marcia, assai vivace - Piu allegro - Presto | | • | Allegro appassionato | | • | Allegretto | | • | Vivace | | • | Lento assai, cantante e tranquillo | | • | Der schwer gefasste Entschluss (Grave - Allegro - Grave ma non troppo tratto - Allegro) |
Disc 3
| • | Allegro con brio | | • | Allegretto ma non troppo | | • | Allegro assai vivace ma serioso | | • | Larghetto espressivo - Allegretto agitato | | • | Adagio ma non troppo - Allegro | | • | Presto | | • | Andante con moto ma non troppo. Poco scherzando | | • | Alla danza tedesca (Allegro assai) | | • | Cavatina ( Adagio molto espressivo) | | • | Overtura (Allegro) - Meno mosso e moderato - Allegro - Fuga | | • | Finale (Allegro) |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
Some Quartets, like the Busch, Italiano, and Talich, have come close to the inner core of these supreme masterpieces. The Takacs Quartet now joins those select few. From the opening chords of the Op. 127--firmly stated, perfectly blended, just gruff enough while still sounding beautiful--you know you're in safe hands during this journey into the deepest, most timeless works in the repertory. Slow movements are always a major test here, and if the Takacs doesn't surpass some of the above-mentioned groups, they are superior to their present-day peers in conveying Beethoven's deepest thinking while also attending to surface beauties. The Takacs surpass the Emersons and Alban Berg Quartet(admirable as those performances are)in their interpretive insights and ensemble sound. But these masterpieces are so rich and dense that admirers need more than one version. The Takacs are masters of Beethoven's quick-changing contrasts, making them sound logical, even inevitable. While their playing is full of drive and forward motion, it's never excessively energetic or overly lean. Of course, the Grosse Fugue is included, along with Beethoven's substitute finale Opus 130 and the Opus 95 Quartet, making for three well-filled discs recorded in excellent sound. --Dan Davis
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| Customer Reviews:
 Fantastic but with a regrettable blemish May 27, 2008
Daniel Adams (Seattle)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
I have nothing but agreement with those who remark about the fabulous mix of technique and artistry in these performances. The ensemble plays together organically, with great fire, tenderness, and mischief where they are required.
However, be warned that there is one major problem keeping this from being my favorite among modern recordings: in the A minor Quartet Op. 132, 1st movement, at a critical point the 1st violin plays the wrong note. This is in bar 246, beat two, where 1st is supposed to play a high G natural; instead he stays on E. It may sound like an odd complaint, but this note comes at the climax of the 1st mvt coda and probably is the linchpin of the whole piece. For the life of me, I can't figure out why they didn't rerecord the movement after that error.
 One of the most beautiful sets of Beethoven's Late Quartets November 25, 2007
muxamed (Sweden)
This is truly one of the most amazing classical recordings ever made. A beautiful contribution to the most profound, imaginative and creative music ever written. Thank you Takacs.
Takacs...what amazing musicians July 22, 2007
Ethyl (Los Angeles)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Perhaps the best chamnber music group of our time, I was eager to purchase the CD after hearing them perform live a few months ago with the newest member of their group, Geraldine Walther (the best violist the San Francisco Symphony has ever had and lost). Listening to them in person, I thought I'd died and gone to heaven. Unfortunately with this piece the energy did not reach me in the same way. It is still an amazing performance, but I need to know my Beethoven better so I can be more selective in my purchases. I am committed to purchasing all future recordings from them, however, and if you have a chance to hear them live, do so!
Sublime Playing March 1, 2007
D. A Wend (Buffalo Grove, IL USA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I have come to enjoy and appreciate string quartets much more in recent years, and my collection of recordings embraces Mendelssohn, Schubert, Haydn, Shostakovich, Borodin and Britten; but not Beethoven. I had some old LP recordings of the quartets several years ago (long disappeared) and I felt it was time to hear them again. So I was approaching this set of quartets as something new.
I bought these recordings having read several reviews of the Takacs Quartet's recordings of the Beethoven Quartets; indeed they have been so glowing that I could not help but be curious. These are not easy works to understand and I have heard the music a few times and feel that I am just beginning to learn about them. I would have to say that my favorites are the Quartet in F minor, Op. 95 "Quartetto Serioso" the Quartet in B flat, op. 130, the Grosse Fuge, op. 133 and the Quartet in F major, Op. 135. These works had an immediate appeal and the playing of the Takacs is luminous. The Quartet in E flat, Op. 127, Quartet in C sharp minor, Op. 131 and Quartet in A minor, Op. 132 have extended slow movements that are intimate and somber, and can become somewhat tiresome. When I was playing disc one with the Op. 127 and Op. 131 quartets my wife said it was the most boring music she had heard. Well, this is music that requires multiple hearings to understand and I do not plan to get rid of this set.
As has been pointed out by several reviewers, the late Beethoven quartets are not works for light listening. However, even the most challenging of the quartets contains music that I found appealing. For example, the Scherzo and Allegro from the Op. 127 quartet are brilliant and even the C sharp minor quartet with its beginning dark and somber adagio eventually brightens as the music unfolds. I usually listen to CDs with a headset and I found that the sound and balance of these recordings are second to none. The playing of the Takacs is fabulous and I highly recommend this set, even if some of the music may require some patience.
MORE APPRECIATION November 30, 2006
GEORGE RANNIE (DENVER, COLORADO United States)
11 out of 14 found this review helpful
To be honest, I have never really understood or appreciated Beethoven's Late String
Quartets finding them very difficult to decipher and really not too enjoyable to listen to. (In reality, I honestly feel that they are very "private" compositions of Beethoven that are reflective of the inner turmoil of his life at the time of their composition) Although I don't feel that I really understand them now (nor do I ever expect to), I have enjoyed them more in this recording that is played by the exquisite Takacs Quartet than I ever have enjoyed them. To me, the Takacs Quartet has some semblance of understanding of these monumental works; they indeed seem to understand them or in the very least they indeed play them most beautifully neither being too gruff or too sentimental. Their sound is simply gorgeous making for a most enjoyable listening experience. Coupled with Decca's exquisite recorded balance and sound, (the recording also includes the Grosse Fugue in this 3 disc set) I now almost like and appreciate the works.
In conclusion, I don't still even pretend to consider Beethoven's Late String Quartets as some of my favorite compositions, however, I indeed do intend to return to this recording often hopefully garnering more of an understanding of these most important compositions by Beethoven.
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