Elegance, warmth, and finesse–that’s what we have come to expect from the Leipzig String Quartet, and all of these qualities are in abundant supply on this recording, as is the rich sound for which MDG is known. The Leipzig players toss off these two early Beethoven quartets with panache; even the fastest phrases are dashed off with astounding ease and grace (and first violinist Andreas Seidel is particularly notable in this regard). In their hands, these quartets are the height of regal elegance, but I do miss the sheer excitement that the Emersons bring to this music. With the Leipzigers the pacing feels much more relaxed, and indeed No. 5 runs about four minutes longer in this reading than in the Emerson Quartet’s version. Even when the tension is ratcheted up slightly, as in No. 2’s opening Allegro movement’s secondary theme, there’s simply less at stake, and our enjoyment of the music’s resolution is less intense. (It feels a little as if you’re watching a formulaic action-adventure movie in which you know from the first frame that the hero will wind up just fine.) But there are individual movements that are punchier–some wonderful accents in the second quartet’s Scherzo, for example. Nevertheless, in spite of these performances’ generally positive impression, my first choice in this repertoire remains firmly with the Emersons.
