Conference cookie::notes$archive:cd_v1

    There are 3 recordings of these that I know of.  I don't have any
    of them (yet!) nor have I been able to hear any of them, but here
    they are:
    
    Exactly the ones you asked for are on:
    
    Angel 47134		by the Berg Quartet (4 discs)
    DGG 415 676-2	by the Melos Quartet (3 discs)
    
    All of the string quartets:
    
    Denon 7711		by the Smetana Quartet (9 discs)
    
    The Berg Quartet and the Melos Quartet also each have two other 3 disc
    sets with the rest of the string quartets - the Denon is the only one
    where you have to buy everything in one package. 
    

I just bought the Alban Berg Quartet version of these pieces.  As far as I
can tell, they are excellent.  I am not an expert, but I am very pleased
with these recordings.  Sound quality is first-rate, and The Berg Quartet
has an outstanding reputation.

Dirk

    I have those quartets on Lps with a number of different artists
    performing them (the Amadeus, the Budapest, the Hungarian), and
    I also have some wonderful things on (pre-digital) Telefunken Lps
    with the Alban Berg Quartet. My favorite performances of the Beethoven
    late quartets were the ones by the Amadeus, but since I couldn't
    find those on CD, and since I really love the Schubert, Haydn, and
    Mozart that I have with the Alban Berg, I bought their CD version.
    I'm not crazy about the performances (although I prefer most of
    them to the Budapest), but then I'm not really terribly disappointed
    either. What DOES disappoint me, though, is the sound that EMI has
    provided. You have to hear the Telefunken Lps to believe how perfectly
    gorgeous recordings can be of string quartets. The effect is almost
    supernatural! But not on these EMI CDs (and the cassettes are even
    worse). If I had a chance to do it all over again, I'd save my money
    and wait for DG to release the Amadeus performances. As it is, I'll
    buy those whenever they become available and probably never listen
    to the Alban Berg set again. In the meantime, their set remains
    -- well -- serviceable. (But I find myself playing the old DG Lps
    with the Amadeus instead.)
    
    Jack
    

    
    re. -1
    
    The Bergs recently came out as individual disks, so you can
    buy one and try them out before you invest in the set.
    
    I built up a set buying individual disks of the Vegh Quartet,
    which are supposed to be right up there with the Bergs. The
    Veghs are tough to find (obscure label), but I'd buy a disk of 
    theirs to test also.
    
    I owned a complete set of the Smetanas, and sold them second
    hand to buy the Veghs. (I'm not sorry.) I also own the two 
    Lindsay Quartet CDs that have been transferred from their 
    complete black disk cycle -- I'm glad I have them, but wouldn't 
    recommend them for a complete, own-only-one-version set.
        
    John
    
    ps. By the way, if you do like the Veghs, the complete 8 disk set
    is at Tower for something like $87 (before special sales).
        

    
    	Thanks for all the information. 
    
    	As far as I can tell, there seem to be serious reservations
    	about sound or performance in the case of the Berg and Smetana
    	quartets. I'm not willing to compromise on either, since I like
    	the Lasalle performance very much and the records are still
        in excellent shape. 
    
        I think my conclusion is I'll pick up the Melos if I can happen
    	on them when DG is on sale somewhere and otherwise wait for
    	a CD issue of either the Lasalle or the Amadeus.
    
        Thanks again.
    
        Will

    I am also in the market for a set of the late quartets.  It seems
    that the Melos Quartet might be the best of the pick.
    Lechmere's in Manchester, N.H. has a set on Philips by a quartet
    called QUARTROS ITALIANA (or some such spelling).  The set is 
    ADD and as 4 discs carries a price tag of $63.99.
    Does anyone have this set or any information on it?
    
     Marty
    

    You're thinking of the Quartetto Italiano, and the box is the
    late Quartets (post-Opus. 59).
    
    I always liked this group (no longer around but one of the great
    quartets of the early '70s) and their records of Opus 59, but
    Grammaphone pinged on them badly when the CD reissues of the
    late quartets came out. I think they were downgraded for poor
    recording, and for performances that weren't as good as the Berg,
    Vegh, and perhaps others.
    
    For twenty bucks more, get the complete quartets with the Vegh.
    (Sandor Vegh is the guy that the Orlando and Lindsay quartets
    travel to Budapest to study with.)
    
      John