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A Berkshire bonanza! Recorded history for $1.99 a pop.

Posted by clarkjohnsen (R) on November 25, 2006 at 18:15:34

Although much great stuff exists there (URL below), anyone interested in the Haydn/Mozart/Beethoven/Schubert chamber repertoire must (MUST!) order the (five) discs by the Capet and Lener Quartets.

While the sound, courtesy of Cedar, offers but a pale representation of the original 78rpm discs, the performances are historic in the best sense of the word. Listen to these and you will gain a sense of musical practice long since vanished: One closer to the composers, but also one not necessarily reflective of their own views either.

R.A. Phillips' fine book, Performing Music in the Age of Recording, lays it out excellently: We no longer hear playing like this, and the most obvious difference lies in the frequent portamenti, or the slides. Whether these glissandi are seen as an intrusion depends on your taste; for my part I have no problem, odd as they may sound, because the musical arguments are so tightly made that any idiosyncracies pale.

At the price, even plus packing and postage, no clearer window on a bygone age has ever been offered. At the original time of issue, the Beethoven a-minor quartet cost $100 in today's terms. How lucky are we?

clark

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