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Bartók: 6 String Quartets / Emerson Quartet
Release Date: 10/25/1988
Label: Deutsche Grammophon Catalog #: 423 657 Spars Code: DDD
Composer: Béla Bartók
Performer: Eugene Drucker, Philip Setzer, Lawrence Dutton, David Finckel
Orchestra/Ensemble: Emerson String Quartet
Number of Discs: 2
Recorded in: Stereo
Length: 2 Hours 29 Mins.
Works on This Recording
1. Quartet for Strings no 1 in A minor, Op. 7/Sz 40 by Béla Bartók
Performer: Eugene Drucker (Violin), Philip Setzer (Violin), Lawrence Dutton (Viola),
David Finckel (Cello)
Orchestra/Ensemble: Emerson String Quartet
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1908; Budapest, Hungary
Date of Recording: 03/1988
Venue: American Academy of Arts & Letters, NYC
Length: 29 Minutes 55 Secs.
2. Quartet for Strings no 2 in A minor, Op. 17 by Béla Bartók
Performer: Eugene Drucker (Violin), David Finckel (Cello), Lawrence Dutton (Viola),
Philip Setzer (Violin)
Orchestra/Ensemble: Emerson String Quartet
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1915-1917; Budapest, Hungary
Date of Recording: 01/1988
Venue: American Academy of Arts & Letters, NYC
Length: 26 Minutes 48 Secs.
3. Quartet for Strings no 3, Sz 85 by Béla Bartók
Performer: David Finckel (Cello), Lawrence Dutton (Viola), Eugene Drucker (Violin),
Philip Setzer (Violin)
Orchestra/Ensemble: Emerson String Quartet
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1927; Budapest, Hungary
Date of Recording: 01/1988
Venue: American Academy of Arts & Letters, NYC
Length: 13 Minutes 54 Secs.
4. Quartet for Strings no 4, Sz 91 by Béla Bartók
Performer: Lawrence Dutton (Viola), David Finckel (Cello), Eugene Drucker (Violin),
Philip Setzer (Violin)
Orchestra/Ensemble: Emerson String Quartet
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1928; Budapest, Hungary
Date of Recording: 02/1988
Venue: American Academy of Arts & Letters, NYC
Length: 21 Minutes 23 Secs.
5. Quartet for Strings no 5, Sz 102 by Béla Bartók
Performer: Lawrence Dutton (Viola), David Finckel (Cello), Eugene Drucker (Violin),
Philip Setzer (Violin)
Orchestra/Ensemble: Emerson String Quartet
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1934; Budapest, Hungary
Date of Recording: 03/1988
Venue: American Academy of Arts & Letters, NYC
Length: 29 Minutes 7 Secs.
6. Quartet for Strings no 6, Sz 114 by Béla Bartók
Performer: David Finckel (Cello), Lawrence Dutton (Viola), Eugene Drucker (Violin),
Philip Setzer (Violin)
Orchestra/Ensemble: Emerson String Quartet
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1939; Budapest, Hungary
Date of Recording: 01/1988
Venue: American Academy of Arts & Letters, NYC
Length: 27 Minutes 51 Secs.
Notes and Editorial Reviews
A new cycle of quartets Bartok quartets has to be pretty special if it is to stand out in such select company as the above. The Emerson Quartet's is, and it does. Their nearest counterparts are the Alban Berg on EMI, in that both ensembles are powerful and refined, pay close attention to the letter of the score, and excel in virtuoso teamwork. The differences are that the Emerson are better recorded, are accommodated on two CDs (the Berg are on three), do not suffer from embarrassing mis-readings, show more imagination in countless details and, perhaps surprisingly, outshine their rivals on their 'home territory', namely the virtuosic 'middle' quartets.
The impression one gains from these recordings (I have not seen the Quartet in the concert hall) is of massive tonal projection and superlative clarity, each textural strand coloured and made audible to a degree possibly unrivalled in the recorded history of these works. DG's close brightly-lit, yet never oppressive recording quality must share some of the credit for that, of course. Combine this with controlled vehemence, headlong velocity and razor-sharp unanimity (any fast movement from quartets two to five can serve as illustration) and you have a formidable alliance of virtues.
At the other end of the scale, precision of sonority in a movement like the central night-music of No. 4 is no less remarkable, and attention to details of accent is scrupulous—for example, I wondered whether the first violin had fluffed a couple of 'snapped' pizzicatos in the following movement; in fact he differentiates between snaps with and without sforzando.
It may nevertheless be felt that this imaginative variety of sound is less conspicuous at low dynamic levels and in passages of more or less romantic expressiveness. Indeed, at the outset of No. 1 I suspected this would be as real a deficiency as it is with the Alban Berg—after all this work is supposed to be Bartok's 'funeral dirge' for his romance with Stefi Geyer, not a recreation of its passionate high-points. That suspicion is soon dispelled, however—as soon, in fact, as the viola's appassionato recitative on the third page. It returns, I have to say, in the outer movements of No. 6, where the sense of loss which surely lies behind the music is less fully registered than it might be. Again, others have found more inwardness in the opening of No. 3 and more mystery, astonishment even, in the slow movements of No. 5. Sul tasto 'one-hair-of-the-bow' huskiness may be something the Emerson could afford to deploy a little more daringly.
These reservations are not meant to deter anyone from buying a set which deserves to be hugely successful and which would be a worthy award winner. And I certainly don't want to imply that the performances are inexpressive; on the contrary, they are compellingly intense and passionate, and by no means indiscriminately so. But it would be a pity if the Emerson were to eclipse the rather different merits of the Vegh (Astree Auvidis/Pinnacle) who may not command such a kaleidoscopic range of colour but who conjour up more interesting shadows and probe into more mysterious, intimate corners (the Takacs on Hungaroton/Conifer take a broadly similar approach, without reaching quite the same level of artistry). Presumably DG's commitment to the Emerson means we will have to wait that much longer for the return of the classic Hungarian Quartet recordings to the catalogue, and the famous earlier mono Vegh set on Columbia is no less worthy of reinstatement. But for the moment it is a pleasure to welcome the appearance of what must be one of the most exciting chamber music recordings of recent years.
-- Gramophone [12/1988]
Review by Blair Sanderson
Among the top performers of Béla Bartók's six string quartets, the Emerson String Quartet has had few rivals, and it is perhaps only matched in technical prowess and expressive clarity by the Takács String Quartet in its 1998 recordings on London, and historically, by the Juilliard String Quartet in its legendary 1963 cycle for Columbia. While the Takács may be more heated in its folk-like expressions and fiery rhythms, and the Juilliard more coolly classical in tone and execution, the Emerson takes a legitimate position between the two: there is room for some flexibility in Bartók, and to the extent that the Emerson gives a balanced presentation of the composer's impulses and aesthetics, the interpretations are effective and feel authentic without ever falling into clichés. The Emerson's award-winning 1988 set presents the works three to a disc, with odd-numbered quartets on the first and even-numbered on the second, to fit easily on two CDs without the break that a sequential order causes. Deutsche Grammophon's recording technology has been improved over the years since these recordings were made, but the sound is still terrific for late-'80s digital quality, though the slightly dry ambience may not be to everyone's taste.
Pressestimmen
H. Lück in FonoForum 2 / 89:"Das Emerson Quartet erreicht große emphatische Spannung, ohne dabei aber im geringsten die Kontrolle aufzugeben. Es läßt nervöser Erregtheit den Lauf, findet aber auch die Ruhe zum Auskosten harmonischer Raffinessen. Klangbild: Natürlich und von unaufdringlicher Präsenz."
