Quartetto Italiano - Complete Philips & Decca Recordings

Anyone who has been listening to recorded chamber music for any length of time will be familiar with many of the recordings in this set, so my words are intended for those relatively new to the world of chamber music recordings. Simply put, these recordings represent some of the best ever made of many of these works, and the box set represents one of the greatest values currently on the market. It contains six mono cd's recorded in the 1950's in acceptable sound from that era, and 31 cd's from the 1960's and 70's in analog stereo sound that stands up to many contemporary digital recordings. The performances themselves are in many cases as close to perfection as any quartet has ever recorded. The playing is smooth and beautiful, the instruments together yet distinct at the same time. My personal favorites are the complete series of Mozart quartets, the complete series by Beethoven, "The Lark" from Haydn's Opus 64, and the "Fifths," "Emperor," and "Sunrise" from his Opus 76."Their Schubert, Dvorak, Debussy, Ravel. and Borodin performances are also excellent, as is their Brahms. If you like string quartets, this is not to be missed. Recommended with enthusiasm.

Lately, I've been buying numerous classical recordings from Amazon. As I get older, listening to classical music is part of my daily routine once again, like when I was a music major in college. I looked up several reviews before purchasing this collection. After reading so many positive reviews on Amazon, I decided on this Quartetto Italiano - Complete collection. It's hard to describe these historical recordings, other than they are among the most inspired performances I've heard. The performances are beautifully interpreted, technically flawless (in my opinion) and I love the selection of works. Another reviewer noted that you can hear each individual instrument very distinctly. I agree, and it is what makes the Quartetto Italiano such a pleasure to listen to. Together, the performances are balanced and the instruments blend together and complement each other beautifully. At the same time you can hear each individual instrument clearly and distinctly in every passage, as if each instrument was playing a solo. You will experience it when you listen. On contemporary recordings, there is more emphasis on technical virtuosity. When these four musicians play, their instruments blend as one sound and four unique sounds, and they play with amazing expression, emotion, and subtlety. These historic records span several decades beginning with the late 1940's. The Razumofsky String Quartets are are superb. This collection includes major works of these composers: Beethoven, Mozart, Haydn, Boccherini, Schumann, Haydn, Schubert, Brahms, Borodin, Dvorak, Ravel, Debussy, Webern. Hope I didn't miss any!...You will love this collection. I highly recommend it.

Look, I'm not gonna pretend I've even listened to 10% of this set, which arrived just today. That'd be 4 CDs! All I can say is that the QT is hailed hither and yon. Right now I've again put on the first disc, Rasumovsky #1, recorded mono in 1952. So what some of you want to know is "How's the sound?" I say "Remarkably detailed and present." In fact, this is making me rethink my attitude towards "classic classical," you know, those Gramophone and Penguin top recommendations that were recorded way back when. We're so spoiled with modern recording that it's not uncommon to hear phrases like, "The engineering is surprisingly fine, considering this was recorded almost 20 years ago." Uh, that was, like, 1996, full-on DDD, not people carving tracks into stelae or something. However, there's no DDD here; the most recent appears to be 1980. So I'll keep you posted, but if sound is what's making you think twice, think also about 37 CDs from one of the most celebrated quartets of all time, doing almost entirely repertoire you'll actually listen to, for as little as I paid, namely $65 delivered. Even the 1952 mono does sound very sweet.

I've been listening to this through, front to back. Later I will do A/B comparisons with favorite recordings of various works. But for now I will say that up through the complete Beethoven quartets, everything has been at a remarkably high, consistent level. The recordings, at least of the stereo performances, are uniformly of the best quality, indistinguishable, I would say, from contemporary recordings. I won't try to provide technical details, but will say this. These recordings are all musical and choices are excellent, serving the beauty of the music. I have been surprised at how much I look forward to my one cd per day of these performances (I'm rationing the pleasure to extend it). My highest recommendation for this set.

I have been enraptured with this set now for three months. Quartetto Italiano's performances of the Beethoven string quartets are the first that I have found completely satisfying. The quartet members make me think of a single performer playing a combined instrument. Their precision in all respects is almost unbelievable. Yet they are sensitive to the full emotional power of the works they perform. This is true of the other works on this set as well from Mozart to Webern. For anyone who appreciates chamber music, particularly the Beethoven string quartets, this set is an absolute MUST!

The Quartetto Italiano is phenomenal in every regard. They are fastidious about following details, nuances and their tempi are well considered. Most exposition repeats are observed with good sound quality as well.

The best, sublime performances. Excellent audio quality, even the first mono recordings sound great.

Magnificent set! Fine recordings (analog, but remastered) of this wonderful quartet throughout their long career. One of the greatest string quartets of the 20th century, beautiful playing and interpretation. Their Mozart quartets remain the standard by which others are judged.

Maravillosas interpretaciones las del Cuarteto Italiano

E' una raccolta che qualunque amante della Musica con la M maiuscola deve avere ... il Nuovo Quartetto Italiano ha un modo di suonare che è unico e secondo me è quasi sovrumana la perfezione e la bellezza di ogni singola nota... sono dei geni assoluti oltre che persone incredibili. Grazie a loro mi sento orgoglioso di essere italiano perchè hanno portato bellezza ma anche rigore e grande lavoro e professionalità nel campo Musicale che è molto difficile e pieno di grandi interpreti. Io ho comprato l'opera omnia dopo che ho seguito la loro storia su Rai5... ma non mi sono fatto affascinare dalla loro storia incredibile ma dalle loro interpretazioni che facevano da colonna sonora alla trasmissione... pur essendo un grande amante della Musica classica lirica e in genere tutta la grande musica ... il quartetto non è un tipo di composizione che preferisco ... ma il Quartetto Italiano mi ha fatto cambiare subito idea...anche perchè molte pagine geniali sono proprio nei quartetti (basta dire la Grossa Fuga di Beethoven .. ma anche i quartetti Mozartiani e di Debussy e Verdi ) Inoltre la fattura del cofanetto e la qualità sono eccelsi

En 1945, à Modena, quatres jeunes musiciens transalpins fondent un nouveau Quatuor italien : le Nuovo Quartetto Italiano ! Un Quartetto qui ne restera "Nuovo" que le temps d'un lustre, mais qui durera pourtant pendant trente-cinq ans, jusqu'à sa dissolution en 1980. Chose extraordinaire, ses membres fondateurs conduiront la formation jusqu'à son terme. Ainsi des deux violons, Paolo Borciani et Elisa Pegreffi, et du violoncelle de Franco Rossi, qui se rencontrèrent pour la première fois au Concours de La Spezia en 1940. Deux ans plus tard ils jouent avec l'Alto Lionello Forzanti (à l'Académie de Sienne); fin 1945 le groupe fait ses débuts, et fait immédiatement parler de lui. Début 1947 la formation trouve sa composition définitive lorsque Forzanti cède la place à Piero Farulli, qui restera fidèle à son poste jusqu'à ce que la maladie l'en empêche, à la fin 1977 (il sera alors remplacé par Dino Asciolla, pour les trois dernières années). Ainsi le Quartetto Italiano peut-il se vanter d'avoir gardé un ton et une unité parfaite tout au long de son existence (c'est assez rare pour être souligné !) Très vite le Quatuor va se distinguer, en Italie comme à l'étranger, multiplier les concerts dans toute l'Europe, et signer ses premières captations pour Decca (dès 1948 !). L'année 1951 s'avèrera particulièrement importante : alors que les compères prennent leur dénomination définitive, leur rencontre salzbourgeoise avec Wilhelm Furtwängler va marquer leur orientation et leur style musical; alors qu'à la fin de la même année leur première tournée américaine finira de les mettre au premier plan mondial pour les trois décennies suivantes' Le Quartetto Italiano, c'est avant tout la complicité parfaite dans une expressivité pure, libérée de tout académisme (merci des conseils, maestro Furtwängler !). Des sonorités élégantes et enjouées, sensuelles, enîvrantes, débordantes de vitalité et de finesse, célébration permanente de cette intensité émotionnelle immédiate si précieuse dans le répertoire romantique. Dans sa discographie, le Quartetto Italiano se distingue particulièrement par une indispensable intégrale (ou devrait-on dire une "inté-graal" ?) des Quatuors de Beethoven, mais aussi de Mozart, Schumann, Brahms et Webern. Il convient évidemment de ne pas se limiter aux intégrales : ainsi des merveilleux derniers quatuors de Schubert, des Quatuors de Haydn, ou des rares gravures de Borodine ou Dvorak, sans oublier évidemment le Quintette de Brahms enregistré en 1977 avec Maurizio Pollini.. Toutes captations regroupées dans ce coffret de 37 CD, avec une série d'enregistrements pour la première fois disponibles en CD : ainsi notamment des deux tiers des captations Decca des débuts (quatuors 6, 7 et 9 de Beethoven, quatuors 2, 19 et 23, ainsi que le Quintette avec clarinette de Mozart), les Quatuors de Schumann, les Quatuors de Boccherini, les Divertimenti de Mozart, le 12ème de Dvorak, le 2ème de Borodine' Un coffret immanquable, que les amateurs risquent bien de s'arracher. Espérons qu'il restera disponible assez longtemps, et pour un prix assez raisonnable, pour que tout le monde en profite'...

One of the very first set of LP Vinyl records I obtained in the string quartet repertoire was the set of the Beethoven quartets on Philips - played superlatively by the Quartetto Italiano. I will not hesitate to say I became an immediate fan of this very good group. There will be others who may be critical of some of their playing styles or interpretations, but for me, the quartet format took on a whole new meaning once I had been through each one of the 11 LP records in that set. I was fortunate to subsequently acquire the Brahms/Schumann quartet set as well - once more, I fell for the impeccable style and performance of these thought provoking pieces of music. With the advent of CD, I did not hesitate to get the Philips complete set of Beethoven quartets - complementing the LP set I still have. Then when this box set of the complete Decca and Philips recordings appeared here on Amazon, there was no stopping me! Brilliant! I will still debate the sonic quality of the old LP records I have in comparison to the CD versions - but the music in itself is sublime and engrossing to the point you are not thinking about the physical format anymore! This is one of my treasured sets now, and at a really bargain price to boot!

It seems odd to see one reviewer refer to these as historic recordings- apart from a small number of early mono recordings included here, all the recordings are in exemplary Phillips stereo sound from the late 1960's and 1970's- the stereo analog heyday. Nevertheless I suppose these are considered historic recordings now. Over the years I have loved these recordings on both vinyl and CD. If you have never heard the Italians, and you enjoy the string quartet repertoire, there is so much pleasure to be had from this comprehensive box set. The Italians play with absolute, flawless technique and ensemble. Their sensibility eschews obvious ostentatious emoting and at first can sound restrained to ears used to more obvious performances. However these are anything but anemic renditions. They play with a severe intensity and passion and the music making is profound.