Having some 20 years ago recorded an outstanding cycle of the Beethoven quartets for ASV, the Lindsays have returned for a new look at these most demanding of chamber works. Taking their time over the replacement series, they now launch into their biggest challenge with the first of the last-period quartets, Opus 127 in E flat. The big contrast in this new version is that the heavenly slow movement flows much more freely than it did before, conveying an even deeper concentration.
In the F minor Quartet, Opus 95, the Lindsays' speeds in all four movements are faster than before, giving an extra bite to the arguments, recognising this as a half-way house towards the quirky sublimity of the last-period works.
