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Bela Bartok: The 6 String Quartets - Emerson String Quartet
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Track Listing
Disc 1:
- String Quartet No. 1, Op. 7: 1. Lento - attacca
- String Quartet No. 1, Op. 7: 2. Poco e poco accelerande all' Allegretto - Introduzione. Allegro 0 attacca
- String Quartet No. 1, Op. 7: 3. Allegro vivace
- String Quartet No. 3: 1. Prima Parte: Moderato - attacca
- String Quartet No. 3: 2. Seconda parte: Allegro - attacca: Ricapitulazione della prima parte; Moderato
- String Quartet No. 3: 3. Coda: Allegro molto
- String Quartet No. 5: 1. Alllegro
- String Quartet No. 5: 2. Adagio molto
- String Quartet No. 5: 3. Scherzo: Alla bulgarese
- String Quartet No. 5: 4. Andante
- String Quartet No. 5: 5. Finale: Allegro vivace
Disc 2:
- String Quartet No. 2, Op. 17: 1. Moderato
- String Quartet No. 2, Op. 17: 2. Allegro molto capriccioso
- String Quartet No. 2, Op. 17: 3. Lento
- String Quartet No. 4: 1. Allegro
- String Quartet, No. 4: 2. Prestissimo, con sordino
- String Quartet, No. 4: 3. Non troppo lento
- String Quartet, No. 4: 4. Allegretto pizzicato
- String Quartet, No. 4: 5. Allegro molto
- STRING QUARTET NO. 6: 1. Mesto-piu mosso, pensante - Vivace
- STRING QUARTET NO. 6: 2. Mesto - Marcia
- STRING QUARTET NO. 6: 3. Mesto - Burletta
- STRING QUARTET NO. 6: 4. Mesto
Product Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #86297 in Music
- Released on: 1990-10-25
- Number of discs: 2
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
The six quartets of Bartók have been well represented on record, far better than the six of Schoenberg or the fifteen of Shostakovich. The choice on Compact Disc, however, is an easy one, for the Emerson Quartet not only plays the music better than any other ensemble, but gets all six essays onto two discs. Making roses out of what must seem more like a collection of thistles to most others who attempt to play the set, the Emerson players show the kind of ensemble polish that caused one European critic to complain, "too smooth.... I like my Bartók rougher." But awkwardness and rhythmic uncertainty, which have made many a lesser group sound rough in this music, should not be confused with expressive edge, which the Emersons bring to the music in full measure. Their readings are extraordinarily revealing, high-intensity, not at all for the faint of heart. With the odd-numbered quartets on one disc and the even on the other, each CD is a "microcosmos" of the whole set. The sound quality is excellent throughout. --Ted Libbey
Customer Reviews
Compositions: Outstanding! Performance: Mixed.
One reviewer said that Emerson wasn't rough enough. When this was released, I believe it was the roughest interpretation I had ever heard! Over-all, these are very good performances (and 100% accurate). The weakness of these performances is the gentler sections which, though technically perfect, lack feeling and conviction. Béla Bartók: The Six String Quartets - Juilliard String Quartet does a very good job of the quiet sections, but lacks power on the aggressive parts.
My favorite recording of these pieces is Bartók: 6 String Quartets by the Hungarian String Quartet. Since I bought that I haven't listened to other recordings of this piece.
Great technique but little soul
The Emersons blow through Bartok's most difficult passages with masterly aplomb; their virtuosity is never in question, and if you were not already familiar with these works you might think these performances were definitive. Bartok, however had a mysterious and lyrical side to him, and the Emersons don't illuminate those remarkable moments in these performances. I constantly get the impression that the Emersons are determined not to let Bartok push them around. They manhandle him masterfully, throwing him to the ground and leaving him in the gutter. Bartok deserves more sympathy than that. With the Emersons it is the bravura playing that will give you goose bumps, not Bartok's dark visions.
Brilliant playing, but lacking color and flavor
I've had this album for several years and have played it often, but I have come to be less than satisfied because of the lack of tone color in these performances. Bartok was, among other things, a Hungarian nationalist composer and a colorist. For me, these performances do not reflect the full color and nationalistic flavor that other performances have shown.
