Beethoven - String Quartet 7 'Razumovsky' [Melos String Quartet]
Surprisingly i haven't played these discs much, they're still newish in my collection, but others i've played to death, especially the Lindsay String Quartet, and to a lesser degree the Vermeer String Quartet, i really recommend both, but the Melos have their way as well, i really enjoy their Ravel / Debussy Quartets, and these discs are growing on me.
The Melos String Quartet, where active for 40 years [1965-2005], a German String Quartet, one of the things i notice about the Melos Quartet, is that they don't hang around much, especially in slow movements, and this can be quite a drawback, Beethoven has some of the loveliest, even 'spiritual' slow movements that you could wish for, but you need to give them time to cast their spells, something missing here, especially the slow movement of Quartet 8, which if played right [thinking of the Vermeers here] can transport you to another world.
So i really loved the first three movements, my favourite movement is the first, but on this listen i found the second really interesting, the 'sempre scherzando' means 'always playful', it helps to give a feel as to what Beethoven is trying to say, it sounds a serious statement, here's a sort of breakdown of its highlights,
It alternates between legato lyrical and staccato rhythmic, i can hear the playfulness in there, but definitely not 'always', there's these outbursts at the end of sections which are loud and forceful, at times it can work up into a heady menace [3:27-3:45], the powerful motor rhythms are quite spectacular [5:46-5:57], and it always alternates between sweet and sour, it's a real tour de force of a movement, it's ending is quite ingenious, and quite startling, almost out of nowhere the end appears, a bit of a false pizzicato ending [8:19], and then a final outburst [8:23-8:30].
Here's the Belcea String Quartet playing the second movement on YouTube.
The Melos String Quartet, where active for 40 years [1965-2005], a German String Quartet, one of the things i notice about the Melos Quartet, is that they don't hang around much, especially in slow movements, and this can be quite a drawback, Beethoven has some of the loveliest, even 'spiritual' slow movements that you could wish for, but you need to give them time to cast their spells, something missing here, especially the slow movement of Quartet 8, which if played right [thinking of the Vermeers here] can transport you to another world.
So i really loved the first three movements, my favourite movement is the first, but on this listen i found the second really interesting, the 'sempre scherzando' means 'always playful', it helps to give a feel as to what Beethoven is trying to say, it sounds a serious statement, here's a sort of breakdown of its highlights,
It alternates between legato lyrical and staccato rhythmic, i can hear the playfulness in there, but definitely not 'always', there's these outbursts at the end of sections which are loud and forceful, at times it can work up into a heady menace [3:27-3:45], the powerful motor rhythms are quite spectacular [5:46-5:57], and it always alternates between sweet and sour, it's a real tour de force of a movement, it's ending is quite ingenious, and quite startling, almost out of nowhere the end appears, a bit of a false pizzicato ending [8:19], and then a final outburst [8:23-8:30].
Here's the Belcea String Quartet playing the second movement on YouTube.
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