Alban Berg Quartet Plays Beethoven

One of the great chamber music ensembles of my time was the Alban Berg Quartet. It was founded in Vienna in 1970 and disbanded in 2008. That was a run of about 38 years. This quartet was practically without equal in the music of Mozart and Beethoven, and its recordings provide powerful evidence. In this video the Alban Berg Quartet plays the first movement from Beethoven's String Quartet Op. 18 No. 1. For perfection of ensemble, style and phrasing this is a remarkable performance.

Last week on the LSM website we presented another classic Beethoven video: Toscanini conducting the Beethoven Fifth. Both videos should be readily available in every music library in the world.

Paul E. Robinson