Work: String Quartet no. 5 in A major, Op.18 no.5

Three Beethoven string quartets were given the Takács Quartet treatment, showing characteristic passion and insight, including the emotionally exhausting A minor quartet, Op. 132.

While on Saturday night I was tucked away in an air-conditioned building, on Sunday afternoon I found myself at a quartet performance in the middle of the woods. The Maverick Concert Hall in Woodstock, New York, was the 1916 creation of Hervey White and in 1952 hosted the première of John Cage’s 4’33”.

Music fans love to get the whole picture. We consume box-sets, bootlegs, alternate takes, and artist interviews – all in the name of completeness. Some people say a good CD library should have at least three Eroicas and five Fifths to be complete, while music magazines might recommend more. Of course, live music venues have their own shot at completeness when they schedule a “cycle”.