In reviewing this set on its first appearance I registered admiration rather than unqualified pleasure. This superb ensemble has all the technical address one could wish for, impeccable intonation and unanimity, but theirs are essentially 'public' performances. They convey little of the sense of four musicians playing for pleasure in the intimacy of a home. As it is now two years since my original review, perhaps, I should briefly repeat what I said then.
Generally speaking tempos are on the fast side and, at times, just a bit too fast for comfort. The finale of the D major (No. 3) is taken at a breathtaking speed. Of course, it is dazzling in its way but what a relief it is to turn to such LP rivals as the Vegh (Valois), a gloriously humane set. Even in the G major (No. 2) the first movement is brisker than most rivals and though it is every bit as well played as the Alban Berg (EMI), I thought that ''the latter offer the more civilized discourse. The Melos Quartet do not convey a sufficient sense of pleasure in the courtly exchanges that take place among the four instruments.'' As I said, the DG recording lays greater stress on clarity than warmth, and this is no less so in the CD format, indeed rather the reverse: each of the four instruments is well defined and present, and the sound marvellously truthful. But the aggressive edge to the playing that I noted in my review of the LPs strikes me as even more noticeable. I liked the A major (No. 5) and the B flat (No. 6) rather more than Nos. 1-4, and sampling the CD transfer has given me no cause to change my mind. A marvellously played set, no doubt, but it still does not displace the Alban Berg on EMI, its CD rival, or on LP the Quartetto Italiano (Philips) and the Vegh.'