lener quartet free downloads Lener quartet free downloads. Title, Name or Code. Product, Artist or Type. Website Release Date. Beethoven: The String Quartets, Vol. 2. UPC Code: 8011570780027. Release Date: June 1994 Originally recorded in 1994. Select your download format. INFORMATION. Studio and Surround are all formatted in FLAC. Lossless is available in FLAC and ALAC (For Mac). You select on the download page. When you purchase a lossless format, we include the MP3 free of charge. Please note: On Mp3 format an unavoidable click may be heard on segue track breaks, to avoid this issue please select lossless. This item is temporarily unavailable. Why not buy the whole Album? Your selections total more than the whole disc price. Notes. Please login to post a review. Reviews. Media Downloads. Whenever possible we provide a high resolution CD cover image and a PDF version of the CD booklet for you to download and keep. About Chandos. Chandos Records is one of the world's premier classical music record companies, best known for its ground breaking search for neglected musical gems. The company has pioneered the idea of the 'series' and proudly includes series of such composers as Prokofiev, Tchaikovsky, Parry, Walton, Grainger, Berkeley and Bridge. Renowned for its superb sound quality, Chandos has won many prestigious awards for its natural sound. Customer Service. Popular Categories. Get In Touch. Chandos Records Chandos House 1 Commerce Park Commerce Way Colchester Essex CO2 8HX United Kingdom. Tel: +44(0)1206 225200 Fax: +44(0)1206 225201. VAT No: 466104851 Co. reg: 1424451. Secure Payments. Chandos Records Chandos House 1 Commerce Park Commerce Way Colchester Essex CO2 8HX United Kingdom. Lener quartet free downloads. S0721. LENER QUARTET: Quartet in C, Op.76, #3; Quartet in d, Op.76, #2; Quartet in D, Op.76, #5 (all Haydn); Quartet in F (Haydn, Op.3, #5 / Hoffstetter). (Canada) St Laurent Studio YSL 78-711, recorded 1928 & 1935. Remarkably quiet transfers from the superb Royal Blue Columbia Shellac 78s (Hoffstetter from English Columbia) by Yves St Laurent. This is the second in that which will be a monumental series of L�ner Quartet CDs produced by Yves St Laurent! "Long ascribed to Haydn, this elegant Quartet in F has since been shown to be the work of a composer named Roman Hoffstetter. The first movement is a good-natured Presto in a high-spirited triple meter, presenting its charming melodies over straightforward accompaniments. The subsequent Adagio cantabile features a famous and elegant singing melody bowed out on the first violin over pizzicato accompaniments from the other instruments. It is from this movement that the quartet has received the nickname 'Serenade'. There follows a minuet whose trio refers to the texture of the slow movement, this time with two instruments bowed and two plucked, and a dashing finale marked Scherzando." - Aaron Rabushka, allmusic.com. The L�ner String Quartet was founded in 1918 by Hungarian violinist Jeno L�ner , and the original four members (L�ner plus Josef Smilovitz, Sandor Roth, and Imre Hartmann) remained together until 1942, when apparently a conflict erupted because L�ner wanted extensive rehearsal before performances of their scheduled Beethoven cycle in Mexico City. The other members objected that after decades of playing those quartets, extensive rehearsal was not needed. For almost a quarter-century before the breakup, the L�ners rivalled the Budapest Quartet in international fame. To them fell the honor of making the first complete recorded cycle of the complete Beethoven quartets. Unlike today's world, when such a project would be done quickly, this enterprise spanned from 1926 to 1938. The L�ner discography is extensive. They recorded, in addition to the Beethoven cycle, the three Brahms quartets (as well as the quintets with piano and clarinet), the Debussy and Ravel quartets, and works by Mozart, Haydn, Schubert, Schumann, and Dvorak. In 1929 the Columbia Gramophone Company presented them with a golden record, honoring the sale of the millionth L�ner recording! Ravel heard them and liked their playing so much that he personally coached the L�ners in his quartet and urged them to play an all-Ravel program. There is undoubtedly something quite old-fashioned about the way the L�ners play, with a varied but heavy use of vibrato, considerable portamento (sliding from one note to another), a strong use of rubato, and extremes of dynamic shading. Some modern listeners will object that the playing is too free, but to others it will be the kind of deeply-felt, highly personal music-making that has sadly disappeared, for the most part, from our concert stages. As you might guess, I fall into the latter category. The present recordings of the Brahms Quartets Nos. 2 and 3 were made in 1929 (Op. 67) and 1931 (Op. 51/2), so the group had already been together for more than a decade. By this time they were masters at matching sounds and colors. Daniel Barenboim once said that an ideal orchestra must play as if with one pair of lungs and one heart. This is precisely the impression one gets from the L�ners here. The blending of sonority in the two slow movements is miraculous. The way that they feed each other phrases is a perfect example of musical give-and-take. If you try to listen analytically, you will realize that an incredible amount of thought and experience must have gone into the level of musical communication going on throughout these pieces. However, it is nearly impossible to listen analytically because of the captivating ebb and flow of the performances. To me, this is quartet playing of almost indescribable beauty. That St. Laurent Studio is making at least a part of the L�ner Quartet's discography available to a wider public is cause for rejoicing. The transfers are very good, with whatever surface noise on the originals reduced or eliminated while retaining the full range of color produced by the group. There are no notes, just track listings and documentation of original recording information. The disc is available at Norbeck, Peters & Ford (norpete.com). It is an early candidate for my FANFARE 'Want List'." - Henry Fogel, FANFARE. "The L�ner Quartet enjoyed one of the great recording careers, lasting from 1922 to 1939 and involving distinguished guest artists: pianist Loeser-Lebert, hornists Aubrey and , bassoonist Hinchliff, oboist Goossens, clarinetist Charles Draper, violists d'Oliveira and William Primrose, and bassist Hobday. The L�ner legacy is a collector's dream." -Tully Potter, CLASSIC RECORD COLLECTOR, Summer, 2003. "Each of these disks, from Canadian engineer Yves St Laurent [feature] St Laurent's natural transfer - made without filtering, like all his dubbings - it is easy to listen to, despite the surface noise." DENNIS BRAIN - HOMAGE (11 CDS) “In his warm and serene person all the essential qualities of the great interpretative artist were blended in perfect harmony.” Dennis Brain’s life was cut short in 1957 when he was just 36, but he had already assured his reputation as the greatest horn-player of the 20th century. He remains an exemplar for his successors today. “Technical problems did not exist for him,” continued the eulogy written by , EMI’s legendary producer and founder of the . “Over his instrument’s whole range he had a mastery of intonation, of legato, of staccato, of dynamic range and, above all, of expressiveness.” This 11CD collection presents all his Warner recordings as concerto soloist and chamber and ensemble player – including music composed with him in mind – and his most notable contributions to symphonic, choral and operatic works. He performs in several CD premieres – music by Handel, Strauss, Richard Arnell and Norman Forber Kay – and a 1953 recording now released for the first time: Vincent d’Indy’s wind septet Chanson et danses. Mozart: Divertimento No. 17 in D major K334 Dennis Brain (horn), Aubrey Brain (horn), Léner Quartet (string quartet) I. Allegro II. Tema con variazioni. Andante III. Menuetto I IV. Adagio V. Menuetto II VI. Rondo. Allegro. Mozart: Horn Concerto No. 2 in E flat major, K417 Dennis Brain (horn) Philharmonia Orchestra Walter Susskind I. Allegro maestoso II. Andante III. Rondo. Mozart: Horn Concerto No. 4 in E flat major, K495 Dennis Brain (horn) Hallé Orchestra Laurance Turner, Sir Malcolm Sargent I. Allegro moderato (Cadenza by ) II. Romance. Andante cantabile III. Rondo. Allegro vivace. Mozart: Per pietà (from Così fan tutte) Dennis Brain (horn), Joan Cross (soprano) Philharmonia Orchestra Lawrance Collingwood. Beethoven: Horn Sonata in F major, Op. 17 Denis Matthews (piano), Dennis Brain (horn) I. Allegro moderato II. Poco adagio quasi lento III. Allegro moderato. Strauss, R: Horn Concerto No. 1 in E flat major, Op. 11 Dennis Brain (horn) Philharmonia Orchestra Alceo Galliera Horn Concerto No. 1 in E- Flat Major, Op. 11: I. Allegro Horn Concerto No. 1 in E-Flat Major, Op. 11: II. Andante Horn Concerto No. 1 in E-Flat Major, Op. 11: III. Allegro - Rondo. Allegro. Mozart: Divertimento in E flat, K289 Dennis Brain (horn) Dennis Brain Ensemble II. Menuetto - Trio III. Adagio. Schumann: Adagio and Allegro in A flat major, Op. 70 Dennis Brain (horn), Gerald Moore (piano) I. Adagio II. Allegro. Mozart: Per pietà (from Così fan tutte) Dennis Brain (horn), Sena Jurinac (soprano) Glyndebourne Festival Orchestra Fritz Busch. Haydn: Symphony No. 31 in D Major, Hob. I:31 "Hornsignal": I. Allegro. Dennis Brain (horn), Alfred Cursue (horn), Edmund Chapman (horn), (flute), (horn) Jack Westrup Orchestra Jack Westrup. Mendelssohn: A Midsummer Night's Dream, Op. 61, MWV M13: No. 7, Nocturne. Con moto tranquillo Dennis Brain (horn) Philharmonia Orchestra Rafael Kubelik. Delius: A Mass of Life, Pt. 2: Prelude Dennis Brain (horn), Ian Beers (horn), Ray White (horn) Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Sir Thomas Beecham. Wagner: Siegfried's Horn Call Dennis Brain (horn) Dukas: Villanelle Dennis Brain (horn), Gerald Moore (piano) Mozart: Quintet for Piano and Winds in E flat, K452 Cecil James (bassoon), Colin Horsley (piano), Dennis Brain (horn), Leonard Brain (oboe), Stephen Waters (clarinet) I. Largo - Allegro moderato II. Larghetto III. Allegretto. Mozart: Ein musikalischer Spass K522 Dennis Brain (horn), Neill Sanders (horn) Philharmonia Orchestra Guido Cantelli I. Allegro II. Menuetto. Maestoso III. Adagio cantabile IV. Presto. Mozart: Quintet for Piano and Winds in E flat, K452 Bernard Walton (clarinet), Cecil James (bassoon), Dennis Brain (horn), (oboe), Walter Gieseking (piano) I. Largo - Allegro moderato II. Larghetto III. Allegretto. Mozart: Divertimento in B flat, K270 Dennis Brain (horn), George Malcolm (piano) Dennis Brain Ensemble Divertimento No. 14 in B-Flat Major, K. 270: I. Allegro molto Divertimento No. 14 in B-Flat Major, K. 270: II. Andantino Divertimento No. 14 in B-Flat Major, K. 270: III. Menuetto. Moderato Divertimento No. 14 in B-Flat Major, K. 270: IV. Presto. Beethoven: Quintet in E flat major for piano and winds, Op.16 Dennis Brain (horn), Bernard Walton (clarinet), Cecil James (bassoon), Sidney Sutcliffe (oboe), Walter Gieseking (piano) I. Grave - Allegro ma non troppo II. Andante cantabile III. Rondo. Allegro ma non troppo. Strauss, R: Horn Concerto No. 1 in E flat major, Op. 11 Dennis Brain (horn) Philharmonia Orchestra Wolfgang Sawallisch I. Allegro II. Andante III. Allegro - Rondo. Allegro. Strauss, R: Horn Concerto No. 2 in E flat major, AV132 Dennis Brain (horn) Philharmonia Orchestra Wolfgang Sawallisch I. Allegro II. Andante con moto III. Rondo. Allegro molto. Mendelssohn: A Midsummer Night's Dream, Op. 61, MWV M13: No. 7, Nocturne. Con moto tranquillo Dennis Brain (horn) Philharmonia Orchestra Paul Kletzki. Mozart, L: Mozart, L: Sinfonia pastorella for Alphorn and Strings: III. Presto (Perfomed at the Hose-Pipe) [Live] Dennis Brain (horn) Morley College Symphony Orchestra Norman Del Mar. Berkeley, L: Horn Trio Op. 44 Dennis Brain (horn), Colin Horsley (piano), Manoug Parikian (violin) I. Allegro II. Lento III. (a) Tema. Moderato. Hindemith: Horn Concerto Dennis Brain (horn) Philharmonia Orchestra Paul Hindemith I. Moderately Fast II. Very Fast III. Very Slow - Moderately Fast. Jacob, G: Sextet in B flat, Op. 6 Dennis Brain (horn), George Malcolm (piano) Dennis Brain Ensemble I. Elegiac Prelude II. Scherzo III. Cortège IV. Minuet & Trio V. Rondo with Epilogue. Ibert: Pièces brèves (3) for wind quintet Dennis Brain (horn) Dennis Brain Ensemble No. 1, Allegro No. 2, Andante No. 3, Assez lent - Allegro scherzando. Mozart: Horn Concerto No. 1 in D Major, K. 412: I. Allegro Dennis Brain (horn) Philharmonia Orchestra . Mozart: Mozart / Arr. Süßmayr: Horn Concerto No. 1 in D Major, K. 412: II. Rondo. Allegro Dennis Brain (horn) Philharmonia Orchestra Herbert von Karajan. Mozart: Horn Concerto No. 2 in E flat major, K417 Dennis Brain (horn) Philharmonia Orchestra Herbert von Karajan I. Allegro maestoso II. Andante III. Rondo. Mozart: Horn Concerto No. 3 in E flat major, K447 Dennis Brain (horn) Philharmonia Orchestra Herbert von Karajan I. Allegro II. Romance. Larghetto III. Allegro. Mozart: Horn Concerto No. 4 in E flat major, K495 Dennis Brain (horn) Philharmonia Orchestra Herbert von Karajan I. Allegro moderato II. Romance. Andante cantabile III. Rondo. Allegro vivace. Bach, J S: Mass in B Minor, BWV 232: Quoniam tu solus sanctus Heinz Rehfuss (bass), Dennis Brain (horn) Philharmonia Orchestra Herbert von Karajan. Strauss, R: Vier letzte Lieder Elisabeth Schwarzkopf (soprano), Dennis Brain (horn) Philharmonia Orchestra Herbert von Karajan No. 1, Frühling (Live at Royal Festival Hall, 1956) No. 3, Beim Schlafengehen (Live at Royal Festival Hall, 1956) No. 4, Im Abendrot (Live at Royal Festival Hall, 1956) No. 2, September (Live at Royal Festival Hall, 1956) Mozart: Sinfonia concertante in E flat for Oboe, Clarinet, Horn, Bassoon & Orchestra, K297b Bernard Walton (clarinet), Cecil James (bassoon), Dennis Brain (horn), Sidney Sutcliffe (oboe) Philharmonia Orchestra Herbert von Karajan I. Allegro II. Adagio III. Andantino con variazioni. Mozart: Divertimento No. 15 in B flat major, K287 Dennis Brain (horn) Philharmonia Orchestra Herbert von Karajan I. Allegro II. Theme and Variations. Andante grazioso III. Menuetto - Trio IV. Adagio V. Menuetto - Trio VI. Adagio - Allegro molto. Mozart: Per pietà (from Così fan tutte) Elisabeth Schwarzkopf (soprano), Dennis Brain (horn) Philharmonia Orchestra Herbert von Karajan. Handel: Overture in D major, HWV 424 Dennis Brain (horn), Frederick Thurston (clarinet), Gervase de Peyer (clarinet) I. Moderato allegro ma non troppo (Performed in C Major) II. Allegro ma non troppo (Performed in C Major) III. Larghetto (Performed in C Major) IV. Andante (Performed in C Major) V. Allegro (Performed in C Major) Handel: Air in F major, HWV410 Dennis Brain (horn), Alfred Cursue (horn), Cecil James (bassoon), Edward Selwyn (oboe), Edward Wilson (bassoon), Michael Dobson (oboe), Natalie James (oboe), Stanley Smith (oboe) Handel: Air in F major, HWV411 Dennis Brain (horn), Alfred Cursue (horn), Cecil James (bassoon), Edward Selwyn (oboe), Edward Wilson (bassoon), Michael Dobson (oboe), Natalie James (oboe), Stanley Smith (oboe) Haydn: Divertimento (Feld-Parthie) in C major, Hob.II:7 Dennis Brain (horn) London Baroque Ensemble Karl Haas I. Allegro II. Minuet III. Adagio IV. Minuet V. Presto. Haydn: Notturno No. 3 in C major, Hob.II:32 Dennis Brain (horn), Cecil James (bassoon), Edward Wilson (bassoon), Neill Sanders (horn), Sidney Sutcliffe (oboe) London Baroque Ensemble Karl Haas I. Allegro moderato II. Andante cantabile III. Molto vivace. Mozart: Serenade No. 11 in E flat major, K375 Dennis Brain (horn), Basil Tchaikov (clarinet), Cecil James (bassoon), Edward Wilson (bassoon), (clarinet), Natalie James (oboe), Neill Sanders (horn), Sidney Sutcliffe (oboe) London Baroque Ensemble Karl Haas I. Allegro maestoso II. Menuetto I III. Adagio IV. Menuetto II V. Allegro. Mozart: Serenade No. 12 in C minor, K388 Dennis Brain (horn), Basil Tchaikov (clarinet), Cecil James (bassoon), Edward Wilson (bassoon), Jack Brymer (clarinet), Natalie James (oboe), Neill Sanders (horn), Sidney Sutcliffe (oboe) London Baroque Ensemble Karl Haas I. Allegro II. Andante III. Menuetto in canone IV. Allegro. Bach, C P E: 6 Sonatas, Wq. 184 Dennis Brain (horn), Bernard Walton (clarinet), Cecil James (bassoon), Gareth Morris (flute), Gervase de Peyer (clarinet), Neill Sanders (horn), Richard Adeney (flute) London Baroque Ensemble Karl Haas No. 4 in E-Flat Major. Allegro ma non troppo No. 3 in G Major. Allegro No. 6 in C Major. Allegretto grazioso No. 2 in F Major. Andante No. 1 in D Major. Allegretto No. 5 in A Major. Allegro assai. Dittersdorf: Partita in D Major Dennis Brain (horn), Cecil James (bassoon), Natalie James (oboe), Neill Sanders (horn), Sidney Sutcliffe (oboe) London Baroque Ensemble Karl Haas I. Allegro moderato (Ed. Karl Haas) II. Minuet & Trio (Ed. Karl Haas) III. Adagio (Ed. Karl Haas) IV. Minuet & Trio (Ed. Karl Haas) V. Finale. Rondo (Ed. Karl Haas) Mozart: Serenade No. 11 in E flat major, K375 Dennis Brain (horn), Bernard Walton (clarinet), Cecil James (bassoon), Jack Brymer (clarinet), Michael Dobson (clarinet), Natalie James (oboe), Neill Sanders (horn), Stephen Waters (clarinet), Val Kennedy (bassoon) London Baroque Ensemble Karl Haas I. Allegro maestoso II. Minuet I & Trio III. Adagio IV. Minuet II & Trio V. Allegro. Minuet II & Two Trios (Sextet Version) Mozart: Serenade No. 12 in C minor, K388 Dennis Brain (horn), Cecil James (bassoon), Edward Wilson (bassoon), Jack Brymer (clarinet), Natalie James (oboe), Neill Sanders (horn), Sidney Sutcliffe (oboe), Stephen Waters (clarinet) London Baroque Ensemble Karl Haas I. Allegro II. Andante III. Minuetto in canone IV. Allegro. Dvořák: Serenade for Winds in D minor, Op. 44 Dennis Brain (horn) London Baroque Ensemble Karl Haas I. Moderato quasi marcia II. Tempo di minuetto III. Andante con moto IV. Allegro molto. Gounod: Petite Symphonie pour vents Dennis Brain (horn) London Baroque Ensemble Karl Haas I. Adagio - Allegretto II. Andante cantabile - Andante III. Scherzo. Allegro moderato IV. Finale. Allegretto. Strauss, R: Sonatina No. 2 (Symphony) in E flat major for 16 wind instruments, AV 143 'Fröhliche Werkstatt' Dennis Brain (horn) London Baroque Ensemble Karl Haas Sonatine No. 2 in E-Flat Major "Fröhliche Werkstatt": I. Allegro con brio Sonatine No. 2 in E-Flat Major "Fröhliche Werkstatt": II. Andantino Sonatine No. 2 in E-Flat Major "Fröhliche Werkstatt": III. Minuet Sonatine No. 2 in E-Flat Major "Fröhliche Werkstatt": IV. Andante - Allegro. Excerpt, Beethoven: Mödlinger Tänze WoO 17 Dennis Brain (horn) London Baroque Ensemble Karl Haas No. 2, Minuet in B-Flat Major No. 1, Waltz in E-Flat Major No. 3, Waltz in E-Flat Major No. 10, Waltz in D Major No. 11, Waltz in D Major. Indy: Chansons et Danses for 7 wind instruments, Op. 50 Dennis Brain (horn), Bernard Walton (clarinet), Gareth Morris (flute), Gervase de Peyer (clarinet), Sidney Sutcliffe (oboe) London Baroque Ensemble Karl Haas I. Chanson II. Danses. Strauss, R: Suite in B flat major, Op. 4 Dennis Brain (horn) London Baroque Ensemble Karl Haas I. Praeludium II. Romanze III. Gavotte IV. Introduction und Fuge. Arnell: Serenade for 10 Winds and Double bass, Op. 57 Dennis Brain (horn) London Baroque Ensemble Karl Haas I. Prelude. Andante con moto II. Scherzo. Allegro vivace III. Canzone. Larghetto IV. Ballet. Allegro. Norman Kaye: Miniature Quartet Dennis Brain (horn), Cecil James (bassoon), Richard Adeney (flute), Stephen Waters (clarinet) Karl Haas I. Moderato e marcato II. Lento III. Fughetta. Moderato ritmico e distino. Lener quartet free downloads. Search MusicWeb Here. You can also use this FreeFind. Monthly index Recordings of the Year Label index Masterwork index Series index Search engines Composer pages Tony Duggan's Mahler survey National Discographies Mark Morris's Guide to Twentieth Century Composers Ralph Moore's Surveys Online books Piano Trio Survey Pot Pourri - Early MusicWeb Gerard Hoffnung Arthur Butterworth's columns Philip Scowcroft's British light music collection Programme notes MusicWeb Listening Studio Talking about Books Other material About Musicweb Contact Musicweb What they say about us Visitor stats. Some items to consider. paid for advertisements. 100th birthday of Mieczyslaw Weinberg on December 8, 2019. Renate Eggbrecht has recorded all 3 violin Sonatas. Mozart Brahms Clarinet Quintets. Alpha Classics a new advertiser --> Follow us on Twitter. Editorial Board MusicWeb International Founding Editor Rob Barnett Editor in Chief John Quinn Seen & Heard Editor Emeritus Bill Kenny MusicWeb Webmaster David Barker Postmaster Jonathan Woolf MusicWeb Founder Len Mullenger. Discs for review may be sent to: Jonathan Woolf 76 Lushes Road Loughton Essex IG10 3QB United Kingdom Ph. 020 8418 0616 [email protected]. Ludwig van BEETHOVEN (1770-1827) String Quartets Volume 2; the Middle Quartets String Quartet No. 7 in F major, Op. 59/1 ‘Rasumovsky’ (1805/6) [37:05] String Quartet No. 8 in E minor, Op. 59/2 ‘Rasumovsky’ (1805/6) [31:22] String Quartet No. 9 in C major, Op. 59/3 ‘Rasumovsky’ (1805/6) [29:31] String Quartet No. 10 in E flat major, Op. 74 ‘The Harp’ (pub. 1809) [33:29] String Quartet No. 11 in F minor, Op. 95 ‘Serioso’ (1810) [21:27] L�ner Quartet rec. 1926-32, London PRISTINE AUDIO PACM109 [76:04 + 76:49] The second volume (for volume 1, see review) in Pristine Audio’s restoration of the first ever complete cycle of the Beethoven quartets reaches the middle quartets. The majority was recorded between October and November 1926, though some of Op.59/1 saw retakes in March 1927 and the whole of the Harp Quartet had to wait until 1932. It would be a bore to reprise here all the many reasons why I – and others – so admire the L�ner Quartet, but some of the reasons can be found in my previous review. There is a generosity of music-making, and an expressive candour allied to some of the most sonorous and romantic corporate quartet playing on disc. These qualities animate everything the group did and sets them apart from the subtle wristiness of Franco- Belgian groups or the steelier imperatives of the Russians. I need to correct one minor slip in my previous review and this is pertinent to the middle quartets. Japanese EMI released these quartets on a three-CD set (SAN 1553-5), not the twofer I suggested, whereas Pristine uses two discs by splitting Op.59/3 between them. Also, and this is especially important, Pristine have transferred the 1926 recording of Op.59 No.2 rather than the 1938 remake, which is what Japanese EMI transferred. So, this is not a like-for-like comparison, exactly, even though everything else is the same. Pristine’s pitch stabilization has worked well, moreover, and they have used American pressings in preference to the noisier British ones. There is therefore more surface noise on the Japanese disc though on a number of occasions a somewhat more vivid sense of the Wigmore Hall acoustic. The sound quality extracted by Mark Obert-Thorn for Pristine is extremely fine. This enables one to hear the tonal qualities of the two violinists, Jenő L�ner himself and Josef Smilovits, the amplitude and tonal breadth of violist S�ndor R�th and the anchoring excellence of cellist Imre Hartman, whose portamenti are as pervasive as those of his colleagues. Try the third movement of Op.59/1 for examples of these particular qualities. The quartet is significantly more urgent in their 1926 recording here of Op.59/2 than they are in 1938, by which point they were almost at the end of their recording career and had already begun to be eclipsed by more glamorous, sleeker and less personality-rich ensembles. I happen to prefer that 1938 reading for its greater sense of relaxation and humanity in the slow movement but would agree that the 1926 is thoroughly consistent in terms of tempo relations and works well on its own terms. It’s hard to know where to suggest sampling the performances here to see if they accord with your own perception of the music but perhaps the fugal passages of the Allegro molto finale of Op.59/3 would be a good place; such vitality and commitment. Or the first violinist’s slides in the opening of the Harp in the only recording here not made in Wigmore Hall. It was recorded instead in Abbey Road Studio No.3 and one can immediately hear how the more enclosed Wigmore acoustic is replaced by a greater sense of lateral spread. Each instrument seems now to inhabit its own distinct aural space whilst not imperilling the ensemble balance or devitalising or reducing the quartet’s inimitable romanticised tonal allure. It might in fact be preferable to play Op.95 ahead of Op.74 given the former was recorded in Wigmore Hall in 1926. This is another memorable restoration and with one release left to run, this pioneering and compelling cycle will soon be available at a competitive price. It should never be out of print. Lener quartet free downloads. Search MusicWeb Here. You can also use this FreeFind. Monthly index Recordings of the Year Label index Masterwork index Series index Search engines Composer pages Tony Duggan's Mahler survey National Discographies Mark Morris's Guide to Twentieth Century Composers Ralph Moore's Surveys Online books Piano Trio Survey Pot Pourri - Early MusicWeb Gerard Hoffnung Arthur Butterworth's columns Philip Scowcroft's British light music collection Programme notes MusicWeb Listening Studio Talking about Books Other material About Musicweb Contact Musicweb What they say about us Visitor stats. Some items to consider. paid for advertisements. 100th birthday of Mieczyslaw Weinberg on December 8, 2019. Renate Eggbrecht has recorded all 3 violin Sonatas. Mozart Brahms Clarinet Quintets. Alpha Classics a new advertiser --> Follow us on Twitter. Editorial Board MusicWeb International Founding Editor Rob Barnett Editor in Chief John Quinn Seen & Heard Editor Emeritus Bill Kenny MusicWeb Webmaster David Barker Postmaster Jonathan Woolf MusicWeb Founder Len Mullenger. Discs for review may be sent to: Jonathan Woolf 76 Lushes Road Loughton Essex IG10 3QB United Kingdom Ph. 020 8418 0616 [email protected]. Ludwig van BEETHOVEN (1770-1827) The Early Quartets - Volume 1 Op. 18 (1798-1800): No.1 in F major [24:58] No.2 in G major [20:10] No.3 in D major [22:16] No.4 in C minor [23:05] No.5 in A major [25:32] No.6 in B flat major [22:24] L�ner Quartet rec. 1926-36, London PRISTINE AUDIO PACM106 [67:30 + 70:58] As the Pro Arte Quartet was to Haydn so, for many years, was the L�ner to Beethoven. They were the first group to record the complete cycle of quartets, though it was to take many years. The quartet was taken up by Columbia in 1922 in a move to make good the loss of the London String Quartet to Vocalion, though in one of those contractual quirks the LSQ continued to make a few discs for American Columbia. In the meantime, the Hungarian group began with acoustic recordings of the Beethoven quartets that were, in time, to be supplanted by electrical remakes. The recordings to be heard in Pristine Audio’s releases are the electric recordings, in a process that lasted from 1925 to 1938 and in fact the recording of Op 18/5 in this inaugural Pristine Audio twofer of the complete electrical set was the recording that completed the cycle. By this time, of course, the Busch Quartet had recorded a number of its own recordings – it began in 1932, quite late - though the group never recorded the cycle in its entirety. The salient qualities of the L�ner are homogeneity of tonal production, strong use of portamenti, a uniform density of sound and an exceptional expressive generosity. Both violinists, Jenő L�ner and Josef Smilovits, and the violist, S�ndor R�th had been pupils of Jenő Hubay, while cellist Imre Hartman was a pupil of David Popper. They make a richer and darker sound than their contemporaries, such as the London, and the Virtuoso, much less the Capet Quartet whose clarity, lightness and restrained use of vibrato proves almost a diametrical opposition to the L�ner way of doing things. In this context the London emerges as the most acceptably forward looking of the ensembles, the one that would most fit in with later norms in chamber playing. And yet there is a huge amount to love about the L�ner approach. Lend an ear to the sheer pathos of the slow movement of Op.18/1. It may seem somewhat sentimentalised to ears unfamiliar with the idiom but few groups more sincerely honour the instruction ‘affetuoso ed appassionato’. If you remain unconvinced then there’s the rich cantabile of Op.18/2, a top-to-bottom security of sound distribution, the leader’s lithe bowing in the same quartet’s finale, or the urgency of the rhythmic tension generated in the Presto finale of Op.18/3. Four of the six quartets were recorded in Wigmore Hall whilst the fifth of the set benefitted from Abbey Road Studio No.3 where the quality increase in recorded sound is clear. No location details seem to exist for sure for the first of the Op.18 quartets. The L�ner cleverly characterise the variations in Op.18/5 and they reprise their great gift of refined but effusively pathos-laden phrasing in the slow movement of Op.18 No.6. My own go-to transfers have been the Japanese EMI three twofer sets. For Op.18 this is SAN 1551-52 on the ‘Great Artists of Angel’ marque. Mark Obert-Thorn’s transfers are quieter and less surface-y; they are also rather more defined and forward and avoid an occasional propensity for the SAN work to be rather ‘needle-tracing-the-groove’ in its effect. This can be a little disconcerting, though I will say that the Japanese transfers rather better preserve hall acoustic. It’s high time that this pioneering sequence of records was made widely available again as it represents something of a milestone in chamber performance on disc and remains the group’s greatest contribution to the discography. I freely admit it’s to the L�ner and not the Busch or the Budapest or the Hungarian, the V�gh, the Amadeus or a plethora of others that I often go in the last quartets. I do so notwithstanding the greater insights of some other groups in some of the quartets or the better recorded sound – I don’t much care about that. Their corporate sound and moving sincerity continue to sing across the years.