Anyone who edits his paintings with a palette knife or with the back of the brush is either crazy or a genius. Or both. Rembrandt was such a scratchy genius. Beethoven too, he had been a painter. His late string quartets belong to the music for an uninhabited island, because of their profundity, unusual form experiments and sound effects. Shockingly modern in the Grosse Fuge op.133, worthy of a
… 'scratchy genius'. Unusually minimalist in the Heiliger Dankgesang (part 3 of op.132). Mysterious and tragic in op.131, which is seen as Beethoven's greatest quartet. There is no shortage of good performances when it comes to Beethoven's quartets. However, the Tokyo String Quartet sometimes has a little more to offer. 'The reason is primarily one of balance, not only within the group itself, but also in terms of overall musical judgment… ”says The Gramophone Classical Music Guide about an earlier release with the early quartets. (HJ)more
