In mid-2019, I came across a set of live recordings by the Juilliard String Quartet, on the Juilliard Music School’s web site. I reviewed Arnold Schoenberg’s String Quartet No. 3 and remarked at the time on the wonderful quality of the music.
After listening to this music constantly I decided to review a selection of the performances. You won’t always be able to buy a recording, but you can listen on the Juilliard School website. I will also link to my usual sites, Spotify, earsense and YouTube for other available versions, should they exist.
Also I noticed that, from late 1959, access is restricted to authenticated members of the Juilliard Community. Make of that what you will, but 1951-1959 will keep me going for a while.
This collection of works is magnificent and the playing of the JSQ is absolutely marvellous – I would say impeccable. Of course some pieces have been discussed here in the past, but I believe the quartet often brings new perspectives to the music.
At the end of each discussion I have included a link to the original Juilliard School website performance. I requested permission from Juilliard to uploaded remastered versions to my website but they were very insistent that I didn’t. My versions had shortened inter-movement breaks, the applause removed and I also adjusted the levels for a more aesthetic listening experience. Oh well …
A list of works currently discussed follows:
View BARTOK, Béla – String Quartet No. 3
View IMBRIE, Andrew – Hot Off the Press