Beethoven: String Quartets op.132 & op.135 (Smetana Quartet 1967/68)

String Quartet No. 15 in A minor, op. 132:

I. Assai sostenuto - Allegro
II. Allegro ma non tanto
III. Molto adagio. Andante
IV. Alla marcia. Assai vivace. Piú allegro
V. Allegro apassionato. Presto

String Quartet No. 16 in F major, op. 135:
I. Allegretto
II. Vivace
III. Lento assai, cantante e tranquillo
IV. Grave ma non troppo tratto (Der schwer gefasste Entschluss)

Recording: Supraphon Domovina Studio, Prague, 23-28th Jan. 1967 (op. 132), 25th Oct. & 9th Nov. 1968 (op. 135)

Supraphon – Japanese Edition  COCO-70432

This is the last CD from the cycle of late Beethoven quartets recorded by the Smetana Quartet in the 1960s. In Supraphon's current 3-CD set, the recordings of op. 132 and 135 sound completely muffled due to excessive noise reduction. The Japanese CD (COCO-70432), which I used for my remastering, is much better in this respect. However, it did have its problems as well. I had do remove a lot of clicks and did my best to remove some nasty high frequency artifacts. In addition, I lifted the low end a bit. Enjoy.