The
Végh Quartet's 1954 recording of Brahms' String Quartets in A minor and in B flat major is so beautiful, so warm, and so serene that you'll wish it could go on forever, a consoling dream of an endless autumn. That's the kind of music it is: the string quartets of Brahms are rich-hued and deep-textured works with long-spun melodies and full-bodied harmonies incarnating the spirit of German Romanticism just past its apex. And that's the kind of performances they are: the
Végh Quartet was one of the great string quartets of the middle years of the twentieth century and arguably the best of the central European quartets. Led by
Sandor Végh, the
Quartet had a pungent tone and a powerful technique coupled with an instinctive sense of rhythm and a passionate sense of phrasing. At the early peak of its career in the '50s, the
Végh Quartet was vital, powerful, and at the first peak of its monaural technique in the '50s. Decca's sound is vitally and powerfully restored in these transparent digital remasterings.