There is no doubt as to the impeccable technique and elegance the Cleveland Quartet command. Their earlier Op. 18 disc coupling the first three of the Op. 18 Quartets (reviewed in August last year) had all the musical intelligence and finesse one could ask for. Looking up my review I see that I admired their playing in all three works without being really moved by them: their perfection, I thought, was like that of an actor who has spoken his lines with simulated spontaneity for too long. It is all, as I said, “at a level of the highest accomplishment that should silence criticism but doesn’t”.
Their Op. 18 No. 4 compares favourably with the Kodaly’s account (see below) in that it is more tautly held together and has a more urgent dramatic feel. But although their tempos are generally well judged, the minuet is absurdly fast. They dispatch it in 3'26'' as opposed to the Kodaly’s 4'41''. To be fair the Tokyo are also excessively high-powered in this movement. The A major is the better of the two performances but even if it is highly professional, it contains little of the freshness of such rivals as the Quartetto Italiano or the Vegh. Current recommendations remain undisturbed.'