专辑简介:
First of all, I'm a cello player, and I know Beethoven quartets quite well, for having played some of them too.
I will start with a few comments on the "controversial" performance of the Lindsays. A funny thing is that I didn't know them well before I bought this recording. I knew the Prazak better, and had the whole Prazak's Beethoven on SACD. I thought, great recording, although it's not my favorite style, but these guys are impressive. But let me tell you something, the Lindsays version talks to me more in every aspect !
I see some people arguing that they play out of tune, well, harmonically speaking, they are nearly never out of tune when the harmony needs it (no one is perfect)! Intonation is a complicated thing, and we string instrument players work on it a lot I believe. The modern piano's twelve-tone equal temperament intonation is not right harmonically, or let's say physically speaking. For example, a fifth on the piano is smaller than it should be, the just intonation will sound a lot richer with much more harmonics. A fourth is bigger than it should be, a major third bigger too, a minor third smaller than it should be, etc.
These are not personal view, just facts anyone who has ears can here if given the occasion. The fact is that we get used to the twelve-tone equal temperament, and seem to believe that it is right. It is not, it is just a practical way of combining all the tonalities together.
Some quartets, like the Alban Berg quartet, play a lot with this kind of intonation. Some don't, like the Lindsays. They are harmonically quite accurate I believe, and sometines what some may call "out of tune" really serves the expression. Listen to Yo-Yo Ma, even Isaac Stern and many more, and you will know what I'm talking about. And as much as I like the Prazak version, Kanka, the cellist of the Prazak, plays too high too often in the lower register, and especially when the harmony needs to be rich ! That is not on purpose, and the problem is that the bass notes are the basis of intonation, so this alters the harmonic richness a lot. And when you add the huge vibrato they all play with, it doesn't always help the richness or homogeneity of the quartet's sound either. But that comment was personal I agree.
Anyway the fact is that it is quite obvious to me that the Lindsays intonation is a lot more controlled than the Prazak's intonation, and as a instrument player I am convinced that they work more on it too.
OK, maybe I'm being boring here. Let me talk a bit about the interpretation. It is just awesome ! So moving from the first note to the last, and anyway my language ability is not good enough to describe it properly. I love it, that's all.
And as for the recording, it is the best string quartet recording I've ever heard. I have had a few different SACD players, speakers, amplifiers, cables etc, and there are many recordings that I hear differently on different equipment, sometimes it gets worse with better equipment, sometines better, sometimes it's completely different. But this recording is a winner, it has always sounded great, you have everything you want to hear, everything you usually hear when the instruments are in front of you. The attack of every note, the crispy sound of all four instruments, the perfect combination between sharp sound and an incredibly generous sound, as if you were close and far at the same time ! The balance is just right too, and I want to add that if you put the Prazak recording after this one you can't help but wondering : do the Prazak play on bad instruments ? Maybe it's just the difference, but the instruments in the Prazak recording don't sound as rich and free.
Anyway, get this recording, listen to it, forget about your habits or preferences, learn to understand their language (you don't see the beauty of foreign poetry if you don't know the language, and I believe it's the same for different styles in different forms of art) and get yourself some hours of happiness or beauty or whatever you want to call it !
By the way, I have now the Cary 306 SACD player, it so lets the music express itself !
See you folks, I hope this review can be helpful. 曲目列表:
1. First Movt: Adagio, Ma Non Troppo - Allegro
2. Second Movt: Presto
3. Third Movt: Andante Con Moto, Ma Non Troppo
4. Fourth Movt: Alla Danza Tedesca (Allegro Assai)
5. Fifth Movt: Cavatina (Adagio Molto Expressivo)
6. Sixth Movt: Grosse Fuge, Op.133
7. Fifth Movt: Cavatina (Adagio Molto Expressivo)
8. Sixth Movt: Finale: Allegro 试听: