BEETHOVEN. STRING QUARTETS. Vegh Quartet (Sándor Végh, Sándor Zöldy, violins; Georges Janzer, viola; Paul Szabo, cello). Selects Telefunken EX6 35041 (three records, nas, £897). Booklet Included.

No. 7 In F major, Op. 59 No. 1, "Rasumovsky"; No. 8 in E minor, Op. 59 No. 2, 'Rasumovsky"; No. 9 in C major, Op. 59 No. 3, 'Rasumovsky"; No. 10 In E flat major, Op. 74, Harp'; No. 11 In F minor, Op. 95.

Let me say at the very outset that these are among the most searching accounts of the middle-period quartets to have been committed to disc for many years. The Vegh Quartet may not always have the technical finish that distinguishes some rival ensembles, though their playing is never less than fine, but they possess abundant humanity and insight. Indeed, I found my thoughts involuntarily turn to the famous pre-war Busch Quartet records, and one can pay no ensemble a higher compliment. It would be easy to point to the odd lapse of intonation or some minor imperfection of ensemble; to paraphrase Brahms, they are evident for any fool to hear. Quartets who play with flawless intonation and fantastic precision and attack are relatively numerous, but those who can play with this degree of Inniglceit and concentration are rare. In the finale of Op. 59 No. 3, for example, the Guarneris speed through with stunning brilliance and perfect ensemble and intonation (RCA SRS3000, 1/70—now deleted) yet listening to the Veghs in this movement is an infinitely richer musical experience. Of course, they bring a lifetime of experience to this music; their personnel has remained unchanged since 1940, and this undoubtedly tells. They naturally draw on a repositary of common musical experience and have a deeper awareness of each other's imaginative responses than younger and glossier ensembles can command.

Sandor Vegh himself commands great beauty of tone and range of colour; his phrases breathe naturally and yet he constantly takes the listener by surprise by the imaginative way he shapes a line or the sheer quality and range of the pianissimo tone on which he can draw. He is occasionally a little under the note but while being aware of this, it never really disturbed me. At no point either from him or any of his colleagues is tone quality made an end in itself; beauty remains the by-product, as it were, of the search for truth and is not an end in itself. There is the utmost fidelity to both the letter and the spirit of these scores, and no interest in self-projection. Right from the outset of Op. 59 No. 1, one feels that the Veghs automatically choose exactly the right tempo; both in the spacious first movement and in the Allegretto they show the same alertness of articulation, rhythmic grasp yet flexibility and a subtle range of tone. Both in the development and in the coda of the first movement they show great imagination and poetry. They reveal the depths and simplicity of the slow movement marvellously, though the magnificent and eloquent account of the Quartetto Italiano (Philips 6747 139, 12/75) here will be preferred by some listeners.

In the first movement of Op. 59 No. 2, the Quartetto Italiano undoubtedly offer the finer quartet playing. Their purity of intonation and beauty of tone and ensemble are also enhanced by finer recording. At the same time, the Végh seem to me the more penetrating. Listening to the opening, questioning phrases both in the exposition and the corresponding point in the reprise, and the variety of tone and meaning that Vegh and his colleagues extract, and the effortlessness with which their dialogue proceeds, silences criticism. Again in the third movement, the Allegretto, both the Italians and the Vegh adopt a perfectly judged tempo; they are much more measured than the Janáéeks which I long admired (Supraphon mono S1JA50616—long deleted) or the old Budapest version (Philips mono ABR406 1—also deleted), one of the mainstays of many collectors. Yet although the Quartetto Italiano in no way beautify their phrasing, the Vegh find an even greater variety of meaning in each phrase and a wider range of colour. In the corresponding movement of Op. 59 No. 3, their thoughts are similar as far as tempo is concerned; they are both close to the Busch though in the previous movement, the latter move the music onward with a slightly greater sense of flow than do the Véghs. The Busch (World Records mono SHB27, 1/75) also bring a greater fire and concentration to Op. 95 and the Italians bring the more perfect ensemble and, I think, no less musical insight. Summing up, however, the overwhelming impression left by these performances is of great authenticity of feeling and in comparing them with the Quartetto Italiano I find great difficulty in preferring one or the other. The Végh are less well balanced: the recording is a little bottom heavy and both viola and cello have slightly greater prominence £han the violins. At times, too, Végh himself is a trifle recessed but minor reservations about the quality of the recording should in no way inhibit the strongest recommendation for this impressive set. Even readers who have purchased the Quartetto Italiano set should investigate it. R.L.