Ludwig Van Beethoven - The Late String Quartets - Quartetto Italiano

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CD 1:

1. Op. 127: I. Maestoso — Allegro
2. Op. 127: II. Adagio, ma non troppo e molto cantabile
3. Op. 127: III. Scherzando vivace  
4. Op. 127: IV. Allegro
5. Op. 131: I. Adagio mo non troppo e molto espressivo
6. Op. 131: II. Allegro molto vivace
7. Op. 131: III. Allegro moderato
8. Op. 131: IV. Andante ma non troppo e molto cantabile — Più mosso 
9. Op. 131: V. Presto
10. Op. 131: VI. Adagio quasi un poco andante
11. Op. 131: VII. Allegro

CD 2:

1. Op. 130: I. Adagio, ma non troppo - Allegro
2. Op. 130: II. Presto
3. Op. 130: III. Adante con moto, ma non troppo. Poco scherzoso
4. Op. 130: IV. Alla danza tedesca. Allegro assai
5. Op. 130: V. Cavatina. Adagio molto espressivo
6. Op. 130: VI. Finale: Allegro
7. Op. 135: I. Allegretto
8. Op. 135: II. Vivace
9. Op. 135: III. Lento assai, cantante e tranquillo
10. Op. 135: IV.  “Der schwer gefaßte Entschluß (The difficult decision).” Grave, ma non troppo tanto (Muss es sein?/Must it be?) — Allegro (Es muss sein!/It must be!) — Grave, ma non troppo tratto — Allegro

CD 3:

1. Op. 132: I. Assai sostenuto - Allegro
2. Op. 132: II. Allegro ma non tanto
3. Op. 132: III. Molto Adagio — Andante
4. Op. 132: IV. Alla Marcia, assai vivace
5. Op. 132: V.  Allegro appassionato- Presto
6. Op. 133: Grosse Fuge
   
   
   BEETHOVEN String Quartets Nos. 12–16; Grosse Fuge • Qrt Italiano • PHILIPS 475 8685 (3 CDs: 215:34)
   "Recorded in the early to mid 1970s, the Quartetto Italiano’s Beethoven cycle has long been among the most consistently satisfying and important contributions to the recording annals of these works. In and out of the domestic catalogs many times over the years, it has never actually been deleted or unavailable in one form or another, though there was a time when it could be obtained only as an expensive import item. As of this writing, it is still available in a 10-CD boxed set of the complete quartets, and the late quartets can still be had in two separate Philips two-fer sets costing a dollar or two less than this latest incarnation in a three-disc box. In whatever format you choose, however, if Beethoven’s string quartets matter to you, your collection should not be without these recordings. The Philips originals still have a place of pride in my own collection.
   Intonation and ensemble balance are impeccable throughout; and the matter of tempos aside, interpretively the Italiano’s readings, especially in the slow movements, probe Beethoven’s otherworldly reveries with rapt concentration. Their Cavatina from the op. 130 Quartet No. 13 is one of the most spellbinding I know, and their Lento assai from the op. 135 Quartet No. 16, with its aching suspensions questing to resolve, is as mournful as it is elegiac...
   The producers came up with a clever idea for the label side of the discs, designing them to look like LPs. So realistic looking are the grooves, I was almost tempted to put one of the CDs on my turntable and set the stylus down on it to see if it would play. Unfortunately, one significant compromise was made to accommodate the late quartets on three discs. In their original four-disc format, the Grosse Fuge was placed after the alternate finale, but at least it was on the same CD, so that one could program the order as desired. Here in its three-disc format, the Grosse Fuge is isolated entirely from No. 13 on a different CD.
   So many outstanding recordings of these works are available that I would probably not recommend the Quartetto Italiano’s effort as a first or only version; but it is one of the classics and stands as an enduring legacy to this great ensemble." - FANFARE: Jerry Dubins
   
   

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Track 10 of CD2 is missing, It is now available in a separate download link.