{"product_id":"hmu85748183-beethoven-the-late-string-quartets","title":"Beethoven: The Late String Quartets","description":"\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eIt reads like irony from a master of the art. Reflecting on a performance of the Quartet in C sharp minor, op.131, George Bernard Shaw characterized Beethoven’s formidable late quartets as \u003cem\u003e‘. . . simple, unpretentious [and] perfectly intelligible . . . ’.\u003c\/em\u003e Yet Shaw was serious in his contrarian estimation, preferring the valedictory works to the ‘\u003cem\u003ewayward caprices of self-conscious genius\u003c\/em\u003e’ which, to his ear, were the quartets of Beethoven’s middle period.\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e‘Are they always to be avoided?’\u003c\/em\u003e, asked Shaw, referring to the quartets commencing with op.127, ‘\u003cem\u003ebecause the professors once pronounced them obscure and impossible?\u003c\/em\u003e’ For decades, regrettably, the answer was yes. We thank Joseph Kerman for this sobering statistic: ‘\u003cem\u003e. . . in the twenty-five year period after Beethoven’s death, Vienna – that great musical center – can boast a grand total of no more than seven public performances of any of these works\u003c\/em\u003e.’\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp class=\"p2\"\u003eTastes, however, change. In 1928, just a century after the composer’s death, music aficionado J. W. N. Sullivan wrote in his Beethoven biography that '\u003cem\u003eIn the last string quartets spiritual experiences are communicated of which it is very difficult to mention even the elements. And yet it is just this music that most moves us and impresses us as containing the profoundest and most valuable experiences that any artist has yet conveyed.\u003c\/em\u003e'\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\u003cspan style=\"color: #993300;\"\u003ePlease note that track 16 is not included as it was not recorded in DSD.\u003c\/span\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cstrong\u003eTokyo String Quartet\u003c\/strong\u003e\r\nMartin Beaver, Violin\r\nKikuei Ikeda, Violin\r\nKazuhide Isomura, Viola\r\nClive Greensmith, Cello","brand":"harmonia mundi","offers":[{"title":"FLAC 96 kHz \/ 2ch Stereo","offer_id":56738715042116,"sku":"HMU857481.83-7","price":19.99,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"FLAC 192 kHz \/ 5ch Surround","offer_id":56738715074884,"sku":"HMU857481.83-9","price":20.99,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"FLAC 96 kHz \/ 5ch Surround","offer_id":56738715107652,"sku":"HMU857481.83-10","price":19.99,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"DSD 64 \/ 2ch Stereo","offer_id":56738715140420,"sku":"HMU857481.83-14","price":23.99,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"DSD 64 \/ 5ch Surround","offer_id":56738715173188,"sku":"HMU857481.83-17","price":23.99,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"FLAC 192 kHz \/ 2ch Stereo","offer_id":57308339437892,"sku":"HMU857481.83-6","price":20.99,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"DSD 64 \/ 2ch Stereo \u0026 5ch Surround","offer_id":57334658990404,"sku":"HMU857481.83S1417","price":32.49,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"FLAC 192 kHz \/ 2ch Stereo \u0026 5ch Surround","offer_id":57334659023172,"sku":"HMU857481.83S69","price":30.49,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"FLAC 96 kHz \/ 2ch Stereo \u0026 5ch Surround","offer_id":57334659055940,"sku":"HMU857481.83S710","price":29.49,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0966\/7900\/2436\/files\/HMU857481.83-1.jpg?v=1790130111","url":"https:\/\/www.nativedsd.com\/products\/hmu85748183-beethoven-the-late-string-quartets","provider":"NativeDSD Music","version":"1.0","type":"link"}