The Guarneri Quartet’s solid and stable renditions should certainly satisfy those who prefer their Beethoven straight, no chaser. There’s little that’s extroverted and certainly nothing extravagant about the ensemble’s traversal of these 15 works–just consistently rich string tone, tasteful phrasing, intelligence, and impeccable musicianship, all in service of the music. Tradition reigns in these readings, with slower tempos in the early Op. 18 quartets imparting an old-fashioned “classical” feel (No. 4 loses some of its “bite” because of this), while the middle period quartets sound robust, if not especially vigorous (Op. 59 No. 1 proceeds at a comfortable trot rather than the energetic jog offered by the Alban Berg Quartet). In the late quartets the Guarneri players keep their distance from Beethoven’s elevated, occasionally ponderous rhetoric, preferring a lighter touch. Note the gracefulness that informs Op. 130, where the musicians make clear their preference for Beethoven’s shorter revised finale (the Grosse Fuge appears on a separate disc).
That’s not to say the Guarneri skimps on substance; there’s intensity aplenty in Op. 131 (listen to the sublime Andante), and the slow movement of Op. 135 registers with the requisite gravity. That said, the group’s conservative, no-nonsense approach means that you might not hear the Op. 135 finale’s pre-echoes of Dvorák, or feel the rustic pulse of Op. 127’s peasant-dancing last movement (elements quite prominent in the Emerson Quartet’s performances). RCA’s close-perspective recording provides solid bass, but the lack of acoustic space makes it sound somewhat claustrophobic. Nonetheless, for newcomers on a budget, the Guarneri set provides a rewarding and affordable introduction to these masterpieces.
