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These recordings of Beethoven's early quartets are excellent in my view. Moreover, this set represents an especially good value for money for those who don't have the op. 29 quintett which is included in the set.
The Tokyo String Quartet's technique has never been in doubt and needless to say, just as all great string quartets, the members are perfectly synchronized, playing together as one, as if controlled by a single mind.
As noted by some of the other reviewers, the Tokyo String Quartet approaches these early quartets in a similar way as if they were playing the late quartets. This manifests itself in a more introverted and measured playing than one finds in the case of most other performers. Strangely enough, this approach seems to suit these quartets well.
In my opinion this set is superior (performance wise) to the group's recordings of the middle quartets which I was not entirely satisfied with. By the way, I disagree with some of the reviewers here who imply that the Tokyo's renditions of the late quartets are somehow too shallow. At least, if we are talking about their recordings of the late quartets with RCA in 1990-1991, such views seem to me unfair. Their playing of the Op. 127, for instance, is unmatched in my view.
Finally: The sound quality of these recordings of the early quartets is very good.
Recommended.
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