These excellent performances remain among the finest available. The Quartetto Italiano differentiates the two works nicely: the Debussy passionate and warmly expressive, the Ravel crisply virtuosic and luminously beautiful. Sonically, though, there have always been problems, at least in every CD transfer I have heard, including this one. On LP, the disc had a notable brilliance and vivid sense of detail. Transferred to the digital medium, though, the sound comes up airless and harsh, with the microphones placed far too close to the players. The very high recording level only exacerbates the situation, limiting the dynamic range and robbing the performances of a degree of subtlety and nuance. While not serious enough to preclude a recommendation–this remains pretty spectacular playing by one of the 20th century’s great quartets–it’s a pity that these flaws weren’t better addressed for this reissue, as they surely could have been.
