Beethoven: The Complete String Quartets Vol.2 (Vinyl) – Cuarteto Casals

The “Beethoven: The Complete String Quartets” LP by Cuarteto Casals is released on Harmonia Mundi and brings together the recordings that present the cycle in a newly conceived tripartite structure. The edition follows the concept chosen by the ensemble, rearranging the quartets according to the three major creative periods of Beethoven’s work — early, middle, and late — in order to make familiar pieces audible from a different sonic and dramaturgical perspective.

Cuarteto Casals, based in Barcelona and active internationally, brings long-standing chamber-music experience and an intensive chamber-music practice to this recording. The ensemble is known for its balanced voicing, homogeneous sound balance, and clearly articulated phrasing, qualities that also come to the fore in this complete recording.

Musically, the recording is characterized by carefully shaped formal clarity and nuanced dynamic shading; even the complex late quartets are interpreted with precise structural control and a pronounced sense of inner balance. As a complete cycle, the collection offers listeners the opportunity to trace Beethoven’s development as a unified compositional trajectory while at the same time experiencing individual works in a new conceptual context.