Founded in East Germany in 1986, the
Vogler Quartet first hit the international big time with a series of passionate yet firmly controlled recordings for RCA in the '90s. The group signed to Nimbus in the early 2000s and made a briefer but equally impressive handful of recordings. But when the group moved to Hänssler in the mid-2000s, something seemed to happen to its playing. Though the personnel hadn't changed since its founding, the group's ensemble sounded less controlled than before and its technique was less secure. And while the interpretations were no less ardent, the quartet no longer seemed as readily able to hold them together.
Take this 2006 recording of Beethoven's Op. 59/1 and 3 quartets. In fast passages, the
Vogler's technique too often slips and only a solid sense of rhythm keeps the notes from skittering out of control. In the racing development of the finale of No. 1 or especially the headlong fugue in the finale of No. 3, for example, the
Vogler tends to smear lines and run roughshod over harmonies. And while it must be acknowledged that the group's rich and ringing tone is effective in the slow movements, it likewise must be admitted that the
Vogler as represented by this recording is no longer the taut group it was in the '90s. Hänssler's digital sound is wide and deep, but a bit too close and a tad too hard in climaxes.