Beethoven: String Quartets (Complete) Vol. 2, Op. 18 Nos. 3 & 4 – Kodály Quartet, Naxos (CD)

Vadonatúj! Gyári csomagolásban! Fóliázott! Mint a képen! Vásároljon bizalommal! Foliaban! Brand new! Factory packaged! As pictured! Buy with confidence!

Product Details

• UPC: 0730099555920
• Catalogue Number: 8.550559
• Brand/Label: Naxos
• Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven
• Performers: Kodály Quartet
• Release Year: 1995 (recorded 1–4 February 1995)
• Genre: Classical – Chamber Music/String Quartet
• Country of Producing: Germany

Product Features

• Format: Audio CD, DDD (fully digital recording), Stereo
• Total playing time: 52:37
• Series: Naxos Beethoven Complete String Quartets, Vol. 2
• Cover artwork: portrait of Beethoven, by Joseph Willibrord Mähler

Overview

This second volume in the Kodály Quartet's Beethoven cycle brings two more Op. 18 quartets, and the pairing shows real range within a set often treated as uniformly "early Beethoven." Quartet No. 3 in D major is actually the first of the six Beethoven composed, despite its numbering, and carries a lightness closer to Haydn's late quartets than to anything darker. Quartet No. 4 in C minor is the opposite — the only minor-key quartet in the entire Op. 18 set, and genuinely more turbulent, with a scherzo marked "Andante scherzoso quasi Allegretto" that plays games with tempo expectation in a way that already sounds distinctly like Beethoven rather than an imitation of his predecessors. Hearing the two side by side gives a much better sense of how varied Op. 18 actually is compared to its reputation as merely transitional, Haydn-adjacent work. The Kodály Quartet, recorded here at Budapest's Unitarian Church by Phoenix Studio, brings good contrast between the two works' very different characters. A worthwhile continuation of the complete cycle, and arguably a more interesting single disc than Vol. 1.

Interesting Facts

• Quartet No. 3 in D major was actually the first of the six Op. 18 quartets Beethoven composed, despite carrying the number 3 in the published set's ordering.
• Quartet No. 4 in C minor is the only minor-key work among all six Op. 18 quartets, giving it a notably more turbulent character than its companions.
• The scherzo of Quartet No. 4 is marked "Andante scherzoso quasi Allegretto," an unusual tempo instruction that plays with listener expectations of what a scherzo should feel like.
• This recording was made by Phoenix Studio at the Unitarian Church, Budapest, continuing the same production team and venue used across much of the Kodály Quartet's Naxos Beethoven cycle.
• The cover portrait of Beethoven is by Joseph Willibrord Mähler, one of several court and society painters who captured the composer during his lifetime.

Track Listing

String Quartet in D Major, Op. 18, No. 3

1. Allegro – 7:56 · 2. Andante con moto – 8:09 · 3. Allegro – 3:24 · 4. Presto – 6:44

String Quartet in C Minor, Op. 18, No. 4

1. Allegro ma non tanto – 9:26 · 6. Scherzo: Andante scherzoso quasi Allegretto – 7:30 · 7. Menuetto: Allegretto – 4:41 · 8. Allegro – 4:28

Publishers

Naxos, part of the Naxos Music Group, recorded by Phoenix Studio at the Unitarian Church, Budapest (producer Ibolya Tóth, engineer János Bohus, music notes Keith Anderson). Distributed by MVD Music and Video Distribution GmbH, Unterhaching/Munich, Germany.

Enjoyed it? A short review helps other chamber-music collectors decide.