Mendelssohn: The Complete String Quartets

Mendelssohn’s quartets have been receiving a good bit of attention on disc, and for good reason. They are the finest works in their medium between Beethoven and Dvořák, and one of them, the F minor quartet Op. 80, just might be Mendelssohn’s finest instrumental work in any form. More consistent in quality than his symphonies, elegant and shapely, these quartets deserve much wider exposure, and no set makes a better case for them than this one. The sound quality is extremely natural, warm, and present, with remarkably little extraneous performance noise – in short, an essential set for lovers of great chamber music and great quartet playing.
The Talich play with an expressive but unadulterated naturalness, perfectly modulated tempi, an acute sensitivity to shape and structure and a beautifully understated reciprocity. An outstanding issue!