The Tokyo Quartet’s latest Bartok cycle falls outside the two-disc limit by merely a few seconds – so, rather than offer three poorly filled discs, even at a ‘special price’, the Tokyo have added two contemporaneous masterpieces from a nearby region. And there are certainly parallels between the two sets of works, not least in terms of a common emotional climate. Both quartets Janacek quartets were inspired by the composer’s infatuation with Kamila Stosslova (the Second especially) while Bartok’s First recalls his passion for the violinist Stefi Geyer and his Sixth alludes, in spirit if not in specific material, to the imminent death of his beloved mother. What is more important, however, is a shared marriage of earth and spirit, Janacek reflecting spontaneous impulse and a veritable stream of musical consciousness, Bartok a heady mix of cerebral invention and animal vigour. Between them, Bartok and Janacek created eight of the finest quartets ever composed – highly personal music, meticulously crafted and perennially appealing.
Comparing the new Tokyo set with the earlier one reveals a slight easing of manner and considerable differences between the leader of the original Bartok set (Koichiro Harada) and his successor (Peter Oundjian) – Harada parading the sweeter tone, Oundjian, the more fiery temperament. The two recordings are very different, too, RCA’s preferring a realistic ‘small concert-hall’ perspective to DG’s more enclosed – and therefore more intimate – acoustic. As to overall interpretation, the earlier set is tighter, more emphatic and rather more revealing of inner detail, especially in the Third Quartet, where the coda’s dive-bombing cello glissandos are far better projected. RCA rather short-change the viola’s important responses near the start of the Second Quartet’s Allegro molto capriccioso second movement (0'25'') and there’s a distracting background noise at the very start of the First Quartet (it suddenly dips, 0'17'' in). The newer set scores by dint of its greater warmth, the older, by superior rhythmic grip and keener inflexions. It’s a case of swings and roundabouts as regards tempo, the most conspicuous exception being the first movement of the First Quartet, which has gained roughly 50 seconds in total timing.
All in all, I would not swap the old for the new, although the presence of the quartets Janacek quartets makes for an excellent package (the performances themselves have a generalized intensity but are less individual than their strongest rivals), so collectors bent on a repertoire-led purchase could do far worse. For me, however, the more earthy Veghs still lead the field, and that in spite of occasional intonation problems, while the more incisive, Gramophone Award-winning Emersons and the painstaking first Tokyo version provide fine second and third choices.'