The Amadeus Quartet was at its peak when these recordings were made in the late '60s. For some listeners, that peak was the peak of string quartet playing, a gracefully lyrical and deeply affecting blend of the prewar central European tradition and the postwar international style. For other listeners, their peak was merely fair to middling, a bland and blanched blend of sentimental nostalgia for the prewar central European tradition and the eviscerated and desiccated postwar international style. For listeners who loved the Amadeus Quartet, its performances of Haydn, Beethoven, and especially Mozart were among the best ever recorded and its recordings of Mozart's quintets are arguably the apex of the group's career. For those listeners, the ensemble was spontaneous, the balances effortless, the tone heavenly, and the interpretations the very stuff of life. For those listeners who disparaged the Amadeus, the group was seen as simply scrappy and sloppy. One thing neither group of listeners will argue with, however, is that Deutsche Grammophon's stereo sound was among the cleanest and clearest ever devised and that DG's reissue preserves and enhances that sound.
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