The Hungarian Quartet, formed in 1935, embodied the very best of the Central European tradition of string-playing, and this cycle, recorded in Paris in the early 1950s, represents an essential staging post in the quest for Beethoven. “These performances will give endless pleasure,” wrote Gramophone, “the ensemble attack and technical proficiency of this quartet are beyond praise and so is their grasp of the music.”
These recordings have now been remastered from the original tapes in 24BIT-96kHz digital sound.
Beethoven: String Quartets Nos. 1-16 (complete, inc. Grosse Fuge)
Hungarian Quartet
Beethoven: Grosse Fuge in B flat major, Op. 133
Beethoven: String Quartet No. 1 in F major, Op. 18 No. 1
Beethoven: String Quartet No. 2 in G major, Op. 18 No. 2
Beethoven: String Quartet No. 3 in D major, Op. 18 No. 3
Beethoven: String Quartet No. 4 in C minor, Op. 18 No. 4
Beethoven: String Quartet No. 5 in A major, Op. 18 No. 5
Beethoven: String Quartet No. 6 in B flat major, Op. 18 No. 6
Beethoven: String Quartet No. 7 in F major, Op. 59 No. 1 ‘Rasumovsky No. 1’
Beethoven: String Quartet No. 8 in E minor, Op. 59 No. 2 ‘Rasumovsky No. 2’
Beethoven: String Quartet No. 9 in C major, Op. 59 No. 3 ‘Rasumovsky No. 3’
Beethoven: String Quartet No. 10 in E flat major, Op. 74 ‘Harp’
Beethoven: String Quartet No. 11 in F minor Op. 95 ‘Serioso’
Beethoven: String Quartet No. 12 in E flat major, Op. 127
Beethoven: String Quartet No. 13 in B flat major, Op. 130
Beethoven: String Quartet No. 14 in C sharp minor, Op. 131
Beethoven: String Quartet No. 15 in A minor, Op. 132
Beethoven: String Quartet No. 16 in F major, Op. 135