Quartetto Italiano - Beethoven - String Quartet in F, Op. 59, No. 1 & String Quartet in B flat, Op. 18, No. 6 - PentaTone PTC 5186.175 (2008) SACD rip via PS3 to iso (2.83GB) | 24bit/88.2kHz flac | Mch (2.23GB) (+6dB gain) | 2ch (1.13GB) DR15 (+6dB gain) | Classical Analogue recordings remastered to DSD by polyhymnia :) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PENTATONE has licensed (from the Decca Music Group) the quad recordings which were made in the 70s by Philips Classics. The quadro system was not successful because of flaws in the playback equipment. However today’s SA-CD equipment is capable of reproducing these recordings the way they were originally intended. Polyhymnia has remastered these recordings for release on SACD. This series is called 'RQR'. AllMusic: Philips' early '70s stereo recordings of the Quartetto Italiano playing Beethoven's string quartets were considered classics in their day both in terms of performance & sound. The Italiano's performances were judged poised but passionate, opulent in sonority but objective in interpretation, & Philips' sound was deemed wholly present but ineffably transparent with an ideal balance between instruments & an uncanny sense of place & time. In this 2008 PentaTone reissue of the Italiano's F major Quartet Op. 59/1 & B flat major Quartet Op. 18/6, the performances, naturally, remain unchanged, but the sound, miraculously, is even better. Though originally recorded in quad, these performances have heretofore only been issued in 2ch. Here, however, the original quad sound is released for the 1st time & the results are little less than astonishing. Before, the sound was transparent with an uncanny sense of place & time; now the sound is essentially translucent with the listener placed right in the middle of the Italians. One can only hope that PentaTone will release more of Philips' Quartetto Italiano recordings. HDAudio has lengthy reviews here: http://www.hraudio.net/showmusic.php?title=5470#comments MWC says, a snippet from it: The only possible controversy in the Italian's peerless 1st Rasumovsky lies in their broad, majestic Adagio. Some might feel it too static, even chill, although I find it it remarkable. In part this is because the players don't exaggerate the dynamic contrasts the way they do in the finale of Op18/6. For me, the Italiano project the mood of almost catatonic anguish which lies at the elusive core of this work. It is their mastery of both musical structure & sustained, intense legato playing which achieves this. The recording quality & SACD transfer are exemplary. The Philips engineers avoided the slight treble brightness that DGG accorded the Amadeus Quartet's Beethoven & Haydn, and the tubby bottom-heaviness of the Vegh Quartet's sound on CD. The quartet is recorded slightly further back than most digital recordings of chamber music. This means that the violin's highest (E) string has a volume which sounds more in proportion to the rest, & is more faithful to the timbre one hears in the concert hall. Many digital recordings overemphasise both high violin sounds & the lowest registers of the cello, making the quartet sound jumbo sized, with a double bass moonlighting for the cello. The Philips recording is perfect in timbre & volume, with no suggestion of analogue tape hiss at lifelike listening levels. MWC says, If you like this, then maybe you'd like to invest in this? http://www.deccaclassics.com/gb/cat/4788824? Tracks: 01-String Quartet in F, Op. 59, No. 1 - Allegro 02-String Quartet in F, Op. 59, No. 1 - Allegretto vivace a sempre scherzando 03-String Quartet in F, Op. 59, No. 1 - Adagio molto e mesto 04-String Quartet in F, Op. 59, No. 1 - Thème russe (Allegro) 05-String Quartet in B flat, Op. 18, No. 6 - Allegro con brio 06-String Quartet in B flat, Op. 18, No. 6 - Adagio ma non troppo 07-String Quartet in B flat, Op. 18, No. 6 - Scherzo (Allegro) 08-String Quartet in B flat, Op. 18, No. 6 - La Malinconia (A... Quartetto Italiano: Paolo Borciani, 1st violin (founder & leader) Elisa Pegreffi, 2nd violin Piero Farulli, viola (1947-1977) Franco Rossi, cello The Quartetto Italiano was a string quartet founded in Reggio Emilia in 1945. They made their debut in 1945 in Carpi when all 4 players were still in their early 20's. They were originally named Nuovo Quartetto Italiano before dropping the "Nuovo" tag in 1951. They are particularly noted for their recording of the complete cycle of Beethoven string quartets, made between 1967 & 1975. The quartet disbanded in 1980. The secretary & historian of the Quartet was Guido Alberto Borciani (Reggio Emilia, 20 October 1920 – 4 April 2008), mechanical engineer & talented pianist, Paolo's brother & founder in 1987 of the Premio Paolo Borciani. http://www.filefactory.com/folder/6fbbf6360b12b6c2 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Checksum for iso: f39e475b8ca21e4b404fdb384eb4afab *Quartetto Italiano - Beethoven String Quartets 1 & 6.iso Checksum for flac tracks Mch: 49013bbbb33095a9e540adc1145c077c *01 - Quartetto Italiano - String Quartet in F, Op. 59, No. 1 - Allegro.flac b8052b14c1e706cc45e67a375ee10b99 *02 - Quartetto Italiano - String Quartet in F, Op. 59, No. 1 - Allegretto vivace a se.flac 12c83d4c6f1d9fd771c19dbc17c18eb3 *03 - Quartetto Italiano - String Quartet in F, Op. 59, No. 1 - Adagio molto e mesto.flac 05a7ce833fd29e2c55027f3548b4cba2 *04 - Quartetto Italiano - String Quartet in F, Op. 59, No. 1 - Theme russe (Allegro).flac c65d75b7004e7823e565ab26e56cedb5 *05 - Quartetto Italiano - String Quartet in B flat, Op. 18, No. 6 - Allegro con brio.flac eb34d676d2a9f49877535dd38acf387f *06 - Quartetto Italiano - String Quartet in B flat, Op. 18, No. 6 - Adagio ma non tro.flac d45521c5a4a733a26f1a434d696fb04d *07 - Quartetto Italiano - String Quartet in B flat, Op. 18, No. 6 - Scherzo (Allegro).flac ea92e483f9ed44da797a76b8eb628c23 *08 - Quartetto Italiano - String Quartet in B flat, Op. 18, No. 6 - La Malinconia (A.flac Checksum for flac tracks 2ch: 73f30305e3e04d4c538657aed3e282b4 *01 - Quartetto Italiano - String Quartet in F, Op. 59, No. 1 - Allegro.flac af5c00bc6d47e437fc8e016e40cf4004 *02 - Quartetto Italiano - String Quartet in F, Op. 59, No. 1 - Allegretto vivace a se.flac fa9b81893f33be1768bf37e3b4278da7 *03 - Quartetto Italiano - String Quartet in F, Op. 59, No. 1 - Adagio molto e mesto.flac 6b368af71188af885d7b352e6b9878b0 *04 - Quartetto Italiano - String Quartet in F, Op. 59, No. 1 - Theme russe (Allegro).flac 658a164a6405eb8054c696404fb08f56 *05 - Quartetto Italiano - String Quartet in B flat, Op. 18, No. 6 - Allegro con brio.flac fa71586cc7f23850b2202bea07825708 *06 - Quartetto Italiano - String Quartet in B flat, Op. 18, No. 6 - Adagio ma non tro.flac b8d9864319628e0f247fa40cb9a7b6ee *07 - Quartetto Italiano - String Quartet in B flat, Op. 18, No. 6 - Scherzo (Allegro).flac 70d52452ba309cbce6ce1241a431dedd *08 - Quartetto Italiano - String Quartet in B flat, Op. 18, No. 6 - La Malinconia (A.flac