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By JOHN FLEMING
© St. Petersburg Times, published January 7, 2001
BEETHOVEN: MIDDLE QUARTETS; BUDAPEST STRING QUARTET (BRIDGE) -- So many Beethoven cycles, so little time. It would be impossible to choose a single set of recordings of Beethoven's 16 string quartets plus the Grosse Fuge, because there are so many splendid ones.
Quartetto Italiano, the Talich Quartet, the Guarneri Quartet, the Alban Berg Quartet, the Vegh Quartet, the Emerson Quartet -- all have celebrated sets of Beethoven's monumental quartets. And more come out every year, such as the Kodaly Quartet's excellent recent set for Naxos.
However, before these worthy ensembles came along, the Budapest String Quartet established the tradition of performing the Beethoven cycle. After giving its first public performance of the complete cycle in London in 1930, the legendary group made three studio recordings over the decades that introduced several generations to the music.
Now there's another Budapest set of Beethoven to savor, this one taken from recordings of the quartet in concert at the Library of Congress, where it performed regularly from 1940 to 1962. The five middle quartets, in a three-CD set, are the latest to be released.
It's an ear-opening treat to hear the Budapest in its prime in the highest expression of Western musical culture. The recordings have been lovingly restored from aging acetates in the Library archives. They are remarkably clear of surface noise for the most part. Contemporary ensembles could learn a lot from these classic performances. GRADE: A
-- JOHN FLEMING, Times performing arts critic