Let me say straight away that the Tokyo Quartet's set of the middle-period quartets is among the most impressive to have appeared in recent years. Although I would not necessarily recommend it in preference to the Vegh (Audivis Valois), the Talich (Calliope), or (in the case of the Rasumovsky Quartets) the Lindsay on ASV that have dominated the catalogue for so long, it is surely a set to reckon with. In terms of sheer technical perfection and ensemble it yields no ground to the Vermeer (Teldec), Orford (Delos), Alban Berg (EMI) or Guarneri (RCA). And their technical finesse, spot-on intonation and superb ensemble are all the more impressive for being at the service of the music. I started with the F major Rasumovsky, undoubtedly the greatest of the three, whose opening in the Tokyo's hands is magnificent in its breadth. They have a good feeling for the architecture and shape of each movement, and throughout the work they are fully aware of the depth of this music.
As regular readers of these columns know, I am generally unsympathetic to virtuoso quartets with their thrustful fortissimos and high-powered projection: it may be acceptable in the quartets of William Schuman or Elliott Carter, but it is not an advantage in this repertoire. Of course, there must be some element of projection, and of public utterance, but not at the expense of civilized discourse. Tempos, agogic and dynamic markings, it seems to me, must be related to the sensibility of the period; musical gestures—at least to some extent—must relate to a world in which horse-driven vehicles and candlelight were the norm rather than jet engines and striplighting. In all three of the Rasumovsky Quartets, and even in Op. 95, the fierce virtuosity of the Alban Berg, for example, attracts attention to itself and erects an unwelcome barrier. (Two readers, however, have recently made me wonder whether I have been entirely fair. One stated, while agreeing with all I have said about the Vegh, ''For me the Alban Bergs are the ones to whom I turn... They give more of the essential Beethoven than most others, and convey the teeming activity and vibrant power of his mind.'' I mention this as there are many perceptions of the truth—just as there is more to this music than any one ensemble can fathom.)
The Tokyo are both dedicated and impressive throughout. Only in two movements of Op. 59 No. 3 do I feel any serious reservation: in the headlong pace they adopt for the fugal finale and the rather overpowering crescendo a little way in, where excitement gets the better of them, and again in the middle section of the preceding movement, which I thought slick. It is a pity that many quartets these days make this finale an exercise in velocity rather than articulation. With the Harp Quartet, Op. 74, I must again take issue. The first two movements are marvellously played but the Presto is both fast and fierce, quite at variance with the sensibility of the period. They are even faster than the Alban Berg, which is saying something. The Talich on Calliope are fast but credible. The Vegh are steadier still; indeed, hardly a presto, but fast in terms of a period before the advent of the internal combustion engine. The Tokyo, on the other hand, have all the velocity and power of Concorde and their speed hampers articulation. But I must say that though in my view they get this wrong, there is far more that they get right, particularly in the case of the F minor Quartet, Op. 95 and the first two of Op. 59.
You may recall the hoary adage comparing a translation to a woman: if it is faithful, it is not beautiful, if it is beautiful, it is unfaithful. Similarly, if a performance sets greater store by beauty than fidelity, it risks gaining the former at the cost of the latter; if it sets its sights on truth first and beauty second, it stands to gain both. The Vegh and the Talich often risk beauty of finish in their search for truth. But at its best this sumptuously but truthfully recorded new issue has both and I must confess that despite my reservations I like it far more than any of the rival versions that have crossed the Atlantic in recent years.'