The Shanghai Quartet
is new to me but on the strength of
this live recording they deserve to
be better known. Here they tackle two
of the "late quartets". These
are works that divide music lovers.
For some they are the "holy grail"
of chamber music, others regard them
as pretentious and unfathomable. I love
them but I regard them as not for every
day and reserve them for certain moods.
These performances were recorded live
at a Beethoven festival in 2004; the
first quartet began at 12 noon as the
notes advise!
Op. 130 is unique among
the sixteen quartets for having two
final movements. The original 15 minute
"Grosse Fuge" which followed
the "Cavatina" was given a
separate opus number 133 and Beethoven
substituted a very different movement,
written after Op. 135. Some quartets
play both endings, giving the listener
a choice, but here we have just the
later. This allows enough room for Op.
131. I believe this is a very rare coupling
This sounded right
from the beginning. There is a lot of
cello-dominated music in this piece
and the sonority of the quartet is beautifully
picked up. There is an extra frisson
because of the live recording but apart
from a slightly disconcerting clock-like
sound at the start of the third movement
the audience is very quiet. The first
movement has what I call one of Beethoven’s
argumentative conversations. The Shanghai
dispatch the second movement with
brio, helped by being live. The Cavatina
has a hymn-like quality without becoming
overtly sentimental. The finale is played
with real aplomb and brings this performance
to a splendid ending and justified applause.
As comparisons, I played the Budapest
Quartet recorded live in 1960 and here
you are much more aware of the live
setting. Both these recordings however
are overshadowed by the Busch Quartet
from their 1942 Sony performance; this
does reach parts other quartets can’t!
Let’s be fair though and say that the
Shanghai is splendid and I will be returning
to this disc often, despite having over
twenty versions!
Op. 131: David Wright
in his review
of the Quartetto Italiano "Late
Quartets" (Philips 464-684-2, which
I will be reviewing soon) expresses
extreme reservations about this piece
which has seven continuous movements,
some only two minutes duration. It’s
a work that always has something new
to say and I’ve enjoyed particularly
performances by the Busch, Hungarian
and the Lindsays. Whilst it is
not an easy quartet it’s marvellous
and very well performed here. In this
quartet the medium is taken to new limits;
this is light years from Haydn’s Op.
20s of fifty years previously.
The quartet begins
slowly and there are two Allegros each
shorter than a minute. The key movement
is the middle one. Versions vary from
12 to 17 minutes; here it’s 13. There
are so many changes that you never know
what is coming next. As a live recording
this is splendid playing and I felt
the Shanghai were totally inside
the music. Yes of course I will continue
to play other versions but will be delighted
to return to this. The disconcerting
cello resonances in the fourth movement
(around 10 minutes) are truly disturbing
and are followed by a painful tranquillity.
The Presto which I love, must have raised
eyebrows in 1826. This is followed by
a poignant adagio. The finale turns
and twists but is much better played
than I can describe!
In conclusion, I would
recommend this disc to lovers of late
Beethoven and those looking for somewhere
to start. Comparisons are not really
worthwhile as it is a very rare coupling
and on its own merits deserves a good
listen!
David R Dunsmore
Shanghai Quartet 
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