As I have often written, it goes without saying that no one ensemble can unlock all the secrets contained in these quartets. The Quartetto Italiano made their recordings between 1967 and 1975 and these have assumed a variety of formats since their first appearance. as individual records—first, the late quartets were packaged as a boxed set of four LPs, then came the complete cycle in a ten-LP set, and later on some records emerged as mid-price double packs. The quartets now comprise ten CDs as opposed to the seven of the Talich (Calliope/Harmonia Mundi) and Amadeus Quartets (DG) or the eight of the Vegh (Auvidis Valois/Pinnacle). However, Philips wisely offer the Quartetto Italiano performances at a highly competitive price in three separate sets and it is as separate entities they should be considered.
Their claims are strongest in the Op. 18 Quartets. The Talich are on only two CDs, which gives them a slight edge over their rivals, though that involves losing the first movement exposition repeats in the F major and in the B flat. As I wrote in October 1987, theirs are performances, ''stripped of glamour and unconcerned with surface beauty... unfailingly intelligent and free from idiosyncrasy'', but although they are inspired in the late quartets and the Rasumovsky set, in the Op. 18 the Talich are occasionally prosaic. Indeed, looking back at my October review I see I found the conversation-like exchanges of the first movement of the G major wanting in wit and lightness of touch—''a cautious rather than gracious discourse'' and even found them dour. No such complaints can be levelled in the present instance: the Quartetto Italiano offer eminently civilized, thoughtful and aristocratic readings. They have a greater reticence than the Alban Berg Quartet (EMI), also on three CDs, or perhaps I should say that they convey the stronger sense of making music in domestic surroundings. Quite frankly, I do not think one can do very much better than this set, even if the Vegh's account of the wonderful slow movement of the F major Quartet has a depth that eludes the Italians—and practically everyone else for that matter!
The Quartetto Italiano playing is wonderfully civilized throughout. Turning to the middleperiod quartets they are hardly less distinguished, even though I have to say there are times when the Vegh and the Lindsay (ASV) offer even deeper insights: I am thinking in particular of the slow movement of Op. 59 No. 1, which means more in their hands. Taken in isolation, however, the Quartetto Italiano remain eminently satisfying both musically and as recorded sound. As far as sound-quality is concerned, it is richer and warmer than that accorded to the Vegh and the Talich. (Even in their CD transfers, they remain a little bottom-heavy and just a trifle dry.) In Opp. 74 and 95, the Quartetto Italiano more than hold their own against all comers and are every bit as good as the Alban Berg (coupled with the Op. 59 Quartets) and the Melos (DG—coupled with the Op. 59 Quartets and the Quartet after the Piano Sonata in E, Op. 14 No. 1). Indeed, these are finely proportioned readings, poised and articulate.
The late quartets appeared for the first time on CD over two years ago and remain as before on four discs, though no longer at full price. I would refer readers to my June 1987 review and merely add that the Quartetto strike me as far more satisfying musically than the more recent Guarneri issues of Opp. 127, 130 and 135 (also on Philips) or the equally well-played but drily recorded Vermeer (Teldec/ASV). The Vegh and the Talich still have special claims, even if in the case of the Vegh they are not always immaculate technically, for there is a rare understanding and depth of feeling displayed by both quartets. They know what this music is about. Mind you, both are coupled quite differently, Talich offering a middle- and late-period quartet together. The nearest rival must be the Lindsay, who rightly carried off the Gramophone Chamber Music Award in 1984 for these late quartets, and whose readings of Opp. 131 and 132 penetrate more deeply into this sublime music even than these masterly accounts. As an alternative to the Vegh, the Quartetto Italiano make an excellent all-round recommendation and have the benefit of first-class recorded sound, and as I have indicated, in the Op. 18 Quartets they are (insofar as it makes sense to talk in these terms) a first choice.'