Quartetto Italiano

The twentieth century saw many, many fine string quartets. Particularly those centred on, or originating from, Central Europe. Two of my favourite quartets are the Busch Quartet (around the 1930s) and the Quartetto Italiano (around the 1970s). The Busch especially for Beethoven; the Italiano especially for Mozart and Schubert. At the moment I have a “Quartetto Italiano Season”; the quartet recorded all the Mozart string quartets, even those he wrote when he was three years old, or whatever. At the moment I am listening to the six “Haydn” quartets of Mozart where the Italiano's smooth, warm, sophisticated sound suits the music like a glove. A long way from the astringent “period performance” crowd, thank heavens. Next up on my listening list will be the last four quartets of Schubert; the Italiano's performance of D.887 in G major has fascinated me for over forty years now and I was happy to replace my original LP with a CD transfer. Following Schubert, I'll go on to the Italiano playing the late Beethoven quartets, and then on to the Debussy and Ravel quartets. It's addictive sound and playing.