Beethoven - Quartets, Vol 4 DVD

The Guardian 100

Elias String Quartet
(Wigmore Hall Live)

The world doesn’t need yet another recording of Beethoven’s string quartets, you might argue, but this terrific cycle from the Elias String Quartet demonstrates how fresh, probing and confrontational a new account can be. The complete set was recorded live at the Wigmore Hall four years ago and is being released in tantalisingly slow instalments. Volume 4 covers early, middle and late-period Beethoven and the Elias distil the special energy of each: Op 18, No 2 is assertive and coltish, a dance of bright, volatile exchanges; Op 59, No 1, first of the Razumovsky quartets, is confident, glowing, exploratory, while the mighty opening chords of Op 127, first of the late quartets, are a statement of intent for an interpretation of huge emotion, thought and vulnerability. It’s exciting playing, and a reminder of how the Elias players put every bit of themselves into their performances.