Beethoven: String Quartets op. 18/1 & 59/3 (Smetana Quartet, 1962/63)

 

String Quartet No.9 in C Major op. 59/3:

I. Introduzione. Andante con Moto - Allegro vivace

II. Andante con moto quasi allegretto

III. Menuetto. Grazioso

IV. Allegretto molto

String Quartet No.1 in F Major op. 18/1

I. Allegro con brio

II. Adagio affetuoso ed appassionato

III. Scherzo. Allegro molto

IV. Allegro

recorded 1962/63 at Supraphon Domovina Studio, Prag

[Japan COCO-70516]

Note on the remastering: The 1960s Beethoven recordings of the Smetana Quartet, glorious as they are, always had a problem with the sound. I own an LP box on which the sound is quite muffled. Most of the CD editions had problems with too much noise reduction and the artifacts that were caused by it. The Japanese releases were best in that respect.

Op. 18/1 was ok and didn't need any remastering. Op. 59/3 sounded harsh and shrill, possibly as a result of noise reduction and subsequent poor equalization. I used Zynaptiq Unchirp, Har-Bal and Izotope Ozone 11 to improve the sound.