Reviews of some of the original recordings that make up this set: Op. 18 QuartetsI doubt whether quartet playing comes much better than in this...

Reviews of some of the original recordings that make up this set:

Op. 18 Quartets

I doubt whether quartet playing comes much better than in this Tokyo set of the Op. 18. Their set of the middle period quartets (RCA, 3/92) was very impressive both in terms of musical insight and technical perfection and ensemble. Regular readers are (probably painfully) aware that I am generally unsympathetic to virtuoso quartets with their thrustful fortissimos and high-powered projection. There must naturally be some sense of public utterance but the overriding impression must be of civilized discourse among friends. The performers must relate to the sensibility of the period, a world in which horse-driven vehicles and candlelight were the norm rather than jet engines and strip-lighting. The Scherzo of the F major is ideal in this respect. The first movement, too, is beautifully paced and sweet toned but they judge the tempo and the character of the slow movement equally well. The Vegh find the greatest depths here but the Tokyo are hardly less penetrating. Try the opening of the G major Quartet and you will see what I mean about civilized courtly exchanges. Incidentally, first movement exposition repeats are observed throughout the set. The first disc accommodates the F major and G minor Quartets plus Op. 14 No. 1 the second, Nos. 3, 4 and 6; and the third, No. 5 in A major plus the String Quintet in which the Tokyo are joined by Zukerman. Quite frankly I don't think that you can go far wrong with this set: the playing is unfailingly alive, sensitive and poised. The recordings are very natural with plenty of air round the image; the A major is slightly closer (and at a higher level) than its companions. Given its stature the C major String Quintet is grievously neglected both in the concert-hall and on CD, and is as well played as any one of its all too few rivals on disc.

-- Robert Layton, Gramophone [9/1993]

Middle Quartets

Let me say straight away that the Tokyo Quartet's set of the middle-period quartets is among the most impressive to have appeared in recent years. Although I would not necessarily recommend it in preference to the Vegh (Audivis Valois), the Talich (Calliope), or (in the case of the Rasumovsky Quartets) the Lindsay on ASV that have dominated the catalogue for so long, it is surely a set to reckon with. In terms of sheer technical perfection and ensemble it yields no ground to the Vermeer (Teldec), Orford (Delos), Alban Berg (EMI) or Guarneri (RCA). And their technical finesse, spot-on intonation and superb ensemble are all the more impressive for being at the service of the music. I started with the F major Rasumovsky, undoubtedly the greatest of the three, whose opening in the Tokyo's hands is magnificent in its breadth. They have a good feeling for the architecture and shape of each movement, and throughout the work they are fully aware of the depth of this music.

You may recall the hoary adage comparing a translation to a woman: if it is faithful, it is not beautiful, if it is beautiful, it is unfaithful. Similarly, if a performance sets greater store by beauty than fidelity, it risks gaining the former at the cost of the latter; if it sets its sights on truth first and beauty second, it stands to gain both. The Vegh and the Talich often risk beauty of finish in their search for truth. But at its best this sumptuously but truthfully recorded new issue has both ... I like it far more than any of the rival versions that have crossed the Atlantic in recent years.

-- Robert Layton, Gramophone [3/1992]