The Complete String Quartets

In the 1960s and in the decades following, the Budapest String Quartet’s mantle at Columbia was passed on to the Juilliard String Quartet. Over the years, with some changes in personnel, the ensemble repeatedly set down its famously lean, energetic and expressive interpretations of the Beethoven quartets in New York recording studios. These have remained catalogue staples. Less well known is the Beethoven cycle they recorded live in Washington at the Library of Congress in 1982. Gramophone singled out this complete traversal for its special depth and flexibility. Presented here on 9 albums, this is its first Sony release.The Early String Quartets MASTERSCD 1Quartet No. 1 in F major op. 18/1Quartet No. 2 in G major op. 18/2CD 2Quartet No. 3 in D major op. 18/3Quartet No. 4 in C minor op. 18/4CD 3Quartet No. 5 in A major op. 18/5Quartet No. 6 in B-flat major op. 18/6The Middle String QuartetsCD 4Quartet No. 7 in F major “Rasumovsky” op. 59/1CD 5Quartet No. 8 in E minor “Rasumovsky” op. 5