Album

Formed by three Austrian immigrants and one youthful Londoner, the Amadeus Quartet came to prominence in postwar England. It excelled in the Classical repertoire, and its recordings in the 1950s were important contributions to the growing body of chamber music on the newly introduced LP. The process of recording on tape was a major improvement over the start-and-stop 78 rpm methods, and these clean and skillfully edited masters hold up quite well in the digital transfer. This seven-disc set follows Deutsche Grammophon's 2003 reissue of the quartet's early Mozart recordings, and covers works by Haydn, Schubert, Mendelssohn, and Brahms, thus giving a fuller representation of the group's prodigious output for Westminster and DG. The sound of the original analog reproduction is terrific, even though most of the recordings are mono and may sound slightly flat to contemporary ears. Yet there is still great sonic depth in these performances that is evident on attentive listening; the feeling that these are historic recordings rarely intrudes on one's enjoyment. The players are always engaged and emotionally charged, but they are particularly strong in the Schubert works, of which the String Quartet No. 15 and the "Death and the Maiden" Quartet are wonderfully rendered and recommended as good pieces to start with.

© Blair Sanderson, All Music Guide

CD 1 of 7
(Franz) Joseph Haydn Composer String Quartet in F, Hob.III:17, Op.3, No.5 (spurious, possibly by Hoffstetter) Work Recorded 1951 13:27 Amadeus Quartet String Quartet
1	1.Presto	3:53			$0.99
2	2.Andante cantabile ('Serenade')	3:48			$0.99
3	3.Menuetto	3:02			$0.99
4	4.Scherzando	2:44			$0.99
(Franz) Joseph Haydn Composer The Seven Last Words on the Cross, version for string quartet, Hob.III:50-56, Op.51 Work Recorded 1951 57:12 Amadeus Quartet String Quartet
5	1.Introduction: Maestoso ed Adagio	6:05			$0.99
6	2.Largo: Father, forgive them	8:16			$1.49
7	3.Grave e cantabile: Today you will be with me in paradise	6:10			$0.99
8	4.Grave: Woman, behold thy son	7:30			$1.49
9	5.Largo: My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?	5:45			$0.99
10	6.Adagio: Alas, I thirst	6:11			$0.99
11	7.Lento: It is finished	5:37			$0.99
12	8.Largo: Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit	9:52			$1.49
13	9.Il terremoto: The earth shook and the rocks split	1:46			$0.49
CD 2 of 7
(Franz) Joseph Haydn Composer String Quartet in G, Hob.III:58, Op.54, No.1 Work Recorded 1957 20:43 Amadeus Quartet String Quartet
1	1.Allegro con brio	5:45			$0.99
2	2.Allegretto	6:44			$0.99
3	3.Menuetto	4:10			$0.99
4	4.Finale: Presto	4:04			$0.99
(Franz) Joseph Haydn Composer String Quartet in C, Hob.III:57, Op.54, No.2 Work Recorded 1954 18:31 Amadeus Quartet String Quartet
5	1.Vivace	5:32			$0.99
6	2.Adagio	3:29			$0.99
7	3.Menuetto: Allegretto	3:44			$0.99
8	4.Finale: Adagio	5:46			$0.99
(Franz) Joseph Haydn Composer String Quartet in Bb, Hob.III:67, Op.64, No.3 (No.50) Work Recorded 1957 20:22 Amadeus Quartet String Quartet
9	1.Vivace assai	6:08			$0.99
10	2.Adagio	5:52			$0.99
11	3.Menuet: Allegretto	4:23			$0.99
12	4.Finale: Allegro con spirito	3:59			$0.99
CD 3 of 7
(Franz) Joseph Haydn Composer String Quartet in C, Hob.III:72, Op.74, No.1 Work Recorded 1957 19:44 Amadeus Quartet String Quartet
1	1.Allegro	5:00			$0.99
2	2.Andantino	5:18			$0.99
3	3.Menuet: Allegro	3:51			$0.99
4	4.Finale: Vivace	5:35			$0.99
(Franz) Joseph Haydn Composer String Quartet in G-, Hob.III:74, Op.74, No.3 ('The Rider') Work Recorded 1957 19:15 Amadeus Quartet String Quartet
5	1.Allegro	3:34			$0.99
6	2.Largo assai	6:20			$0.99
7	3.Menuet: Allegretto	3:34			$0.99
8	4.Finale: Allegro con brio	5:47			$0.99
(Franz) Joseph Haydn Composer String Quartet in G, Hob.III:81, Op.77, No.1 ('Lobkowitz Quartets') Work Recorded 1956 19:44 Amadeus Quartet String Quartet
9	1.Allegro moderato	5:47			$0.99
10	2.Adagio	5:49			$0.99
11	3.Menuet: Presto	4:05			$0.99
12	4.Finale: Presto	4:03			$0.99
(Franz) Joseph Haydn Composer String Quartet in D-, Hob.III:83, Op.103 (Unfinished) Work Recorded 1951 11:04 Amadeus Quartet String Quartet
13	1.Andante grazioso	5:32			$0.99
14	2.Menuetto ma non troppo	5:32			$0.99
CD 4 of 7
Franz Peter Schubert Composer String Quartet No.10 in Eb, D.87, Op.posth.125, No.1 Work Recorded 1955 19:04 Amadeus Quartet String Quartet
1	1.Allegro moderato	6:14			$0.99
2	2.Scherzo: Prestissimo. Trio	1:40			$0.49
3	3.Adagio	5:44			$0.99
4	4.Allegro	5:26			$0.99
Franz Peter Schubert Composer String Quartet No.8 in Bb, D.112 Work Recorded 1957-2957 26:15 Amadeus Quartet String Quartet
5	1.Allegro ma non troppo	9:35			$1.49
6	2.Andante sostenuto	7:43			$1.49
7	3.Menuetto: Allegro. Trio	5:05			$0.99
8	4.Presto	3:52			$0.99
Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy Composer 4 Pieces for String Quartet, Op.81 Work Recorded 1954 Amadeus Quartet String Quartet
9	3.Capriccio: Andante con moto. Allegro fugato, assai vivace	5:24			$0.99
CD 5 of 7
Franz Peter Schubert Composer String Quartet No.13 in A-, D. 804, Op.29 ('Rosamunde') Work Recorded 1954 30:46 Amadeus Quartet String Quartet
1	1.Allegro ma non troppo	9:31			$1.49
2	2.Andante	7:12			$1.49
3	3.Menuetto: Allegretto. Trio	6:49			$0.99
4	4.Allegro moderato	7:14			$1.49
Franz Peter Schubert Composer String Quartet No.15 in G, D. 887, Op.posth.161 Work Recorded 1951 42:55 Amadeus Quartet String Quartet
5	1.Allegro molto moderato	15:24			$2.49
6	2.Andante un poco moto	11:57			$1.99
7	3.Scherzo: Allegro vivace. Trio: Allegretto	6:18			$0.99
8	4.Allegro assai	9:16			$1.49
CD 6 of 7
Franz Peter Schubert Composer String Quartet No.14 in D-, D.810 ('Death and the Maiden') Work Recorded 1953 37:04 Amadeus Quartet String Quartet
1	1.Allegro	11:12			$1.99
2	2.Andante con moto	14:05			$2.49
3	3.Scherzo: Allegro molto. Trio	3:35			$0.99
4	4.Presto	8:12			$1.49
Franz Peter Schubert Composer String Quartet in C-, D.703 ('Quartett-Satz') Work Recorded 1951 Amadeus Quartet String Quartet
5	String Quartet in C-, D.703 ('Quartett-Satz')	8:31			$1.49
Johannes Brahms Composer String Quartet No.1 in C-, Op.51, No.1 Work Recorded 1951 30:47 Amadeus Quartet String Quartet
6	1.Allegro	8:15			$1.49
7	2.Romanze: Poco Adagio	7:05			$1.49
8	3.Allegretto molto moderato e comodo. Un poco più animato	9:52			$1.49
9	4.Allegro	5:35			$0.99
CD 7 of 7
Johannes Brahms Composer String Quartet No.2 in A-, Op.51, No.2 Work Recorded 1955 29:35 Amadeus Quartet String Quartet
1	1.Allegro non troppo	8:49			$1.49
2	2.Andante moderato	9:07			$1.49
3	3.Quasi Minuetto, moderato. Allegretto vivace	5:08			$0.99
4	4.Finale: Allegro non assai. Poco tranquillo. Più vivace	6:31			$0.99
Johannes Brahms Composer String Quartet No.3 in Bb, Op.67 Work Recorded 1957 31:06 Amadeus Quartet String Quartet
5	1.Vivace	7:23			$1.49
6	2.Andante	7:12			$1.49
7	3.Agitato (Allegretto non troppo)	7:28			$1.49
8	4.Poco allegretto con variazioni	9:03			$1.49