String Quartets Op.74, 95, 135

"If you like your Beethoven quartets played from the gut, you'll love this recording. The Eroica Quartet has something new to say about these extraordinary works, and it says it with force and an understanding of the frameworks and intent of the music. Beautifully recorded. Highly recommended."
John Farnsworth
The Register Guard

"an uncommonly communicative rendering of these masterworks. There is a palpable sense of four human beings engaged in the creation of a living musical experience...individual lines are miraculously clear, taking us deeply into the music's texture--the rapid notes of the "Harp" Quartet's first movement climax are perfectly articulated and audible. This is also true of the "Serioso" Quartet's opening, which generates nearly as much energy (but with more feeling) as the Emerson's reading...profoundly compelling...…This is one disc I'll play repeatedly."
Performance: 9 / Sound Quality: 10
Victor Carr
ClassicsToday.com

"The Eroica Quartet, a leading English period-instrument group, has developed a uniquely individual approach to these works. The players are excellent singly and together; though they play virtually without vibrato, their intonation is impeccable, the tone homogeneous, the balance exemplary. Perhaps most remarkable is the texture's transparency, giving the illusion of four equally prominent voices. The sound is singularly pure...the playing is so noble and inwardly expressive...The "period" style shows in the tempos; some are more flowing, others more held than is customary, and the players feel free to change them frequently. Every variation in the Finale of Op. 74 and every phrase in the first movement of Op. 95 is different, and they take time for poised phrasing, transitions, and dynamic contrasts. The scherzos are quite slow, making for unusual clarity of rhythm and texture. Opus 135 is most strikingly different: in the first and last movements, all the wit and humor come out, while most performers seem to be afraid or oblivious."
Edith Eisler
Amazon.com