classical music: Valentin Erben

classical music: Valentin Erben

classical music:

Valentin Erben

Beethoven: String Quartet in B Flat Major, Op. 130; Grosse Fuge
Ludwig van Beethoven, Alban Berg Quartet, ...

EMI Classics, 2005

Beethoven: Complete String Quartets

Valentin Erben, Ludwig van Beethoven, ...

Angel Records, 1997

A very solid Beethven playng
I' ve listened only a half of this recordings and so far I'very pleased of what I was hearing. The quartet sounds as beautiful as ever, the depths of the Beethoven's music are all there and the music making is the finest you can wish in a quartet enssemble. What I ...

Dvorák, Schumann: Piano Quintets

Valentin Erben, Antonin Dvorak, ...

Angel Records, 2000

Intense performances dominated by the strings
These readings of the Schumann and Dvorak piano quintets come from live concerts, the Schumann from Carnegie Hall (1995), the Dvorak from Vienna (1993). Both are dominated by the Alban Berg Quartet, who seemed to have only two modes, impressively intense and ...

Brahms: String Quartets, Opp. 51 & 67
Valentin Erben, Johannes Brahms, ...

Angel Records, 1994

Schoenberg: Verklärte Nacht; Erwartung; Five Orchestral Pieces
Valentin Erben, Arnold Schoenberg, ...

EMI Classics, 2008

Beethoven - The Complete String Quartets / Alban Berg Quartet

Ludwig van Beethoven, Alban Berg Quartet, ...

EMI Classics, 1999

VERY HIGH QUALITY RENDITION
All the performances on this set of the Beethoven String Quartets are of the highest quality. Particularly outstanding is the performance of Op 59 no 1 Intonation, expression, the ability of the players to meld together, and the dynamic range is all superb. One small ...

Dvorak: String Quartet Op 96; Smetana: String Quartet in E minor

Antonin Dvorak, Bedrich Smetana, ...

Angel Records, 2001

Great for Non-Experts
I'm only a dabbler in classical music - I own may 2 dozen classical CD's total. But this is at the top of the list. I can't get enough of it; when I put it on I have to stop what I'm doing and just have to sit down and listen - and this after many many ...

Mozart: The Ten Great String Quartets

Alban Berg String Quartet, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, ...

EMI Classics, 1992

Marvellous Mozart
This is a marvellous album, and one of the best modern-instrument versions. The Berg go at this music with determination and passion and precision, and the result is often electifying. To my mind their playing is better here, and they are better recorded, than in ...

Schubert: String Quartet in Cm No12, D703; String Quartet in G No15, D887, Op161

Franz Schubert, Alban Berg Quartet, ...

Angel Records, 2000

Stunning Balanced & Lyrical Performance
For a couple years I have been listening to the Emerson Quartet's versions of the late Schubert string quartets. In particular, I always loved the manic intensity of their G-major performance (quartet #15). Then I purchased this ABQ disc, and I haven't listened to the ...

Schubert - String Quintet in C / Alban Berg Quartet · Schiff

Franz Schubert, Alban Berg Quartett, ...

EMI Classics, 1999

The best...very Viennese...very Schubert
Although many American concert-goers and players prefer the Emerson with Rostro, after listening to the Berg, I still prefer it. There is more idiomatic playing, with the right amount of rubato. It just seems "right". If you've played the quintet yourself, you'll ...

Schubert: String Quartets Nos. 10 & 14

Valentin Erben, Franz Schubert, ...

Angel Records, 2000

Great live Schubert performances
Once they became famous, the ABQ got into the habit of making most of their recordings live from Vienna, and the results are almost without exception more spontaneous and exciting than their studio work. This Death and the Maiden from 1994, paired with Qt. #10 from ...

Beethoven: String Quartets Vol.2
Valentin Erben, Ludwig van Beethoven, ...

Angel Records, 1993

Streichquartett / String Quartets Op. 76, Nos. 2-4

Valentin Erben, Franz Joseph Haydn, ...

EMI, 2000

ABQ is the best for Haydn
The Alban Berg Quartet has produced an artistically and technically superb version of Haydn's op. 76 string quartets. In particular, "The Sunrise" is above all expectations.

Janacek: String quartet No1; String quartet No2

Valentin Erben, Leos Janacek, ...

Capitol, 1995

Energy and Pathos
Aside from the enthusiastic applause before and after each performance, you would never know this recording is live. The sound is clear and balanced throughout. The Berg quartet achieves a high level of catharsis with both quartets, and convey their passionate and ...