Led by violin soloist, conductor, composer, and all-round first-rank musician
Adolf Busch, the
Busch Quartet was widely regarded as the great quartet of the inter-war period. All four players --
Busch, second violinist Gösta Andreasson, violist Karl Doktor, and cellist (and brother of the first violinist)
Hermann Busch -- had an uncommon unity of ensemble and altogether rare unanimity of interpretation, and their performances were always marked by their incredible collective intensity. Though contemporary listeners might find their tone too acerbic and their intonation too hit-and-miss, contemporary listeners with more open hearts, minds, and ears will also hear what it is about these performances that have commended them to generations of music lovers. Here the
Busch Quartet tackles some of the greatest quartets ever written for the medium, and only the obviously antique sound keeps this from being a first recommendation for listeners. Especially filled out with a 1941 recording of
Busch leading the
Busch Chamber Players in a blistering performance of
Felix Weingartner's arrangement of the Grosse Fuge, this set belongs on any
Beethoven collector's shelf, just after the better-sounding versions by the
Amadeus and
Berg Quartets.