A brief intervention to correct this Esmee Qt bullshit, plastering the entire newsgroup. This is what happens when in effect one guy takes over, and bullies all others into submission.
This Esme Qt is a merely OK, competent but not terribly interesting ensemble, I'm sorry to say. It just happens to be comprised of four nubile-age longhaired, bare-armed Asian women, which is why DK can't stop about them. DK has a looong history of
similar cases of bad judgement, of listening with one's eyes, however there is no one around any longer to correct this.

They are not the new sixties Juilliard Qt - far from. They are as unexciting as it gets, which is too bad, because there are plenty of exciting string quartets around. I get no pleasure out of saying this quartet is not so great, but at some point this
adulatory praise for a middle of the road band turns into suppression of better music.

It's amazing how much bandwidth this guy is claiming without having a beginning of an understanding about anything outside of Russian style piano pounding.Violin music is terra incognita and any young woman with a fiddle and sufficient amount of bare
skin is the new messiah.

There are dozens of string quartets who are better technically and more interesting musically than the Esme Qt. If one wants to talk in terms of Sixties Julliard Qt it's a no-brainer (provided one has ears and some sense) that the Quatuor Ebene has been
at the top for a long time now. But, hey, no young Asian women; they're French, so cue the antisemitism and escargot comments - you see, this self-declared connoisseur is really as dumb as a rock.
The currently disbanded Artemis Quartett was another contender, but jeez, they were Germans, so forgetaboutit. Obviously it would be much more convenient NOT to take this strange classical music detour if all you want to talk about is hot young women
and antisemitism, but that's RMCR for you.

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What it is about in string quartet performance, is everything is tremendously exposed (one can hear alignment problems in these Esme performances easily, they are not really listening to each other) and yet you need to have the level, individually and as
a foursome, to take seat of the pants risks, which is what makes the best string quartets more exciting than anything.

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A third top level string quartet is the Jerusalem Quartet. And now I'm outta here.

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Had a listen today and I rather like them - intelligent, lyrical playing and they make a good collective sound. No idea how they compare to today's quartets of their age. There may well be better, but the Esme are good and seem to have fans. Good luck to
them.

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On Friday, April 28, 2023 at 2:07:50 AM UTC-7, Andy Evans wrote:

Had a listen today and I rather like them - intelligent,
lyrical playing and they make a good collective sound.
No idea how they compare to today's quartets of their
age. There may well be better, but the Esme are good
and seem to have fans. Good luck to them.

The Esmés won the 2018 Wigmore Hall String Quartet
Competition, which suggests they are/were at least
as good as all the other competitors.

dk

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You are touting this ensemble as the very best:

"To my ears,
the Esmés sound the closest to the
1958-1966 Juilliards that I hold as
the pinnacle of the string quartet
art, with their combination of tight
ensemble work, flair, drama, and
perfectly polished execution."

They are not even close. They're capable of performing the standard works to a competent degree. Nowhere do they reach the level of a top string quartet, that plays and sounds like a wild animal full of power and musical energy, the way the Juilliard SQ
used to, and the Ebene and the Artemis in more recent times.

Problem is you have virtually no sense of violin playing or string quartet practice. This is about shall I say your taste in women. Your have quite a history in conflating those two things.

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On Thursday, April 27, 2023 at 11:52:16 PM UTC-7, Herman wrote:

What it is about in string quartet performance,
is everything is tremendously exposed

Do you really believe no else in r.m.c.r. is
aware of this?

(one can hear alignment problems in these

Esme performances easily, they are not
really listening to each other)

Can you provide examples? Give us the
time marks and explain what you hear.
How did you figure out they do not
listen to each other?

All the Esme performances currently on
YouTube were recorded live during the
Wigmore Hall competition, under high
stress. It is not uncommon for even
the best ensembles or soloists to
make mistakes in live concerts.

and yet you need to have the level,
individually and as a foursome, to
take seat of the pants risks, which
is what makes the best string
quartets more exciting than
anything.

Again, do you think no one else in
r.m.c.r. has figured this out?

dk

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On Friday, April 28, 2023 at 12:48:26 PM UTC+2, Herman wrote:

Problem is you have virtually no sense of violin playing or string quartet practice. This is about shall I say your taste in women. Your have quite a history in conflating those two things.

It's kind of amusing you keep on talking about dull pianists and the way music should be performed as if it were improvised on the spot. This Esme Qt is dull and plays by the numbers, which is why people like them, they sound safe and prissy, just the
way they look.

Their Mendelssohn F minor quartet, which should be a virtuoso rage, sounds like a ladies' tea party and sentimental in voicing as well, really cringey.

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On Friday, April 28, 2023 at 3:48:26 AM UTC-7, Herman wrote:

You are touting this ensemble as the very best:

"To my ears,
the Esmés sound the closest to the
1958-1966 Juilliards that I hold as
the pinnacle of the string quartet
art, with their combination of tight
ensemble work, flair, drama, and
perfectly polished execution."

They are not even close.

How would you know? I really doubt
you heard the Juilliard live during the
period I mentioned.

They're capable of performing the
standard works to a competent degree.
Nowhere do they reach the level of a top
string quartet, that plays and sounds like
a wild animal full of power and musical
energy, the way the Juilliard SQ used to,

Check this: https://youtu.be/zbFPQiLGhA4

and the Ebene and the Artemis in more
recent times.

The Ebene and the Artemis are competent
ensembles. Nothing out of the ordinary.

Problem is you have virtually no sense of
violin playing or string quartet practice.

I have enough sense of music performance
to be able to tell the difference between say,
the Julliard, the Amadeus, the Budapest, the
Italiano and the Alban Berg, as well as the
next 2-3 tiers down. One does not have to
be a practicing fiddler in order to listen to
chamber music and to figure out what is
going on.

This is about shall I say your taste in women.

Are you suggesting the Wigmore Hall Quartet
competition jury awarded them the top prize
because of their looks and/or gender?

Your have quite a history in conflating
those two things.

This is entirely your projection, mon ami.
There are plenty of reviews of Esme's
performances that completely refute
your idiotic statements. Would you
also suggest I liked the Juilliard
because of their looks or gender?

dk

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On Friday, April 28, 2023 at 4:14:41 AM UTC-7, Dan Koren wrote:

On Friday, April 28, 2023 at 3:48:26 AM UTC-7, Herman wrote:

You are touting this ensemble as the very best:

"To my ears,
the Esmés sound the closest to the
1958-1966 Juilliards that I hold as
the pinnacle of the string quartet
art, with their combination of tight
ensemble work, flair, drama, and
perfectly polished execution."

They are not even close.

How would you know? I really doubt
you heard the Juilliard live during the
period I mentioned.

They're capable of performing the
standard works to a competent degree.
Nowhere do they reach the level of a top
string quartet, that plays and sounds like
a wild animal full of power and musical
energy, the way the Juilliard SQ used to,
and the Ebene and the Artemis in more
recent times.

The Ebene and the Artemis are competent
ensembles. Nothing out of the ordinary.

BTW both the Ébène and the Artemis are a
generation older than the Esmé. It makes
no sense to compare ensembles founded
in 1989 and 1999, respectively, with one
founded in 2016.

Artemis' Mendy op. 80 is on YouTube:

https://youtu.be/7epVd81pc5U

Compare them with the Esmé version I
posted, and write up clearly what are
the differences, and what each quartet
does better (or worse) than the other.
Provide time marks and links to the
score.

TIA!

dk

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On Friday, April 28, 2023 at 1:32:46 PM UTC+2, Dan Koren wrote:

and write up clearly what are

the differences, and what each quartet
does better (or worse) than the other.
Provide time marks and links to the
score.

Go fuck yourself, racist idiot. who do you think you are?

Go and post endless videos of marching women in unform.

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On Friday, April 28, 2023 at 1:32:46 PM UTC+2, Dan Koren wrote:

BTW both the Ébène and the Artemis are a
generation older than the Esmé. It makes
no sense to compare ensembles founded
in 1989 and 1999, respectively, with one
founded in 2016.

So what? They perform in the same artistic market.

You can go to a Ebene performance and hear/see them pout their hearts out, or go to an Esmee bow tie neat fest.

but if you want closer in age, go ahead and compare the Danish SQ in Haydn https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGgmFFMFICc

and the Esme in Haydn
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OI2L1u9WWcQ

I don't expect you to be able to tell the difference.

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On Thursday, April 27, 2023 at 11:41:45 PM, herman wrote:

A third top level string quartet is the Jerusalem Quartet. And now I'm outta here.

Alinde Quartett on hänssler classics new Schubert series is promising. No Asians, but all young Europeans. I just worked a Korean pop show last night at the Shrine Auditorium. Lots of Far Eastern & Asian-American nubiles there. Dan would have passed out,
for sure.

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On Friday, April 28, 2023 at 9:29:45 PM UTC+2, Oscar wrote:

Alinde Quartett on hänssler classics new Schubert series is promising.

There are literally dozens of 'promising' string quartets around, comprised of multitasking violinists who do solo recitals, temp in various orchestras and play quartets.

Another very good string quartet is Sini Simonen's Castalian String Quartet, based in England, playing Wigmore Hall frequently. Simonen is from Finland, the alto player is French (she has since been replaced), the others are British. The band dates from
2016 and they're very busy.

Simonen is the real deal, a true artist.

Brahms 67 and Schumann A minor and Britten nr 2

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=castalian+quartet+brahms

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hf565yAZJDg&t=685s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xf6ViavmhVw&t=105s

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On Thursday, April 27, 2023 at 11:41:45 PM UTC-7, Herman wrote:

A third top level string quartet is the Jerusalem Quartet. And now I'm outta here.

Agreed; also agree re the Ebene; not familiar with the Artemis's recordings, and had never even heard of the Esme. That said, we live in a golden age of string quartet quality.

Bob Harper

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On Fri, 28 Apr 2023 05:17:07 -0700, Herman wrote:

On Friday, April 28, 2023 at 1:32:46???PM UTC+2, Dan Koren wrote:

BTW both the Ébène and the Artemis are a
generation older than the Esmé. It makes
no sense to compare ensembles founded
in 1989 and 1999, respectively, with one
founded in 2016.

So what? They perform in the same artistic market.

You can go to a Ebene performance and hear/see them pout their hearts out, or go to an Esmee bow tie neat fest.

but if you want closer in age, go ahead and compare the Danish SQ in Haydn https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGgmFFMFICc

and the Esme in Haydn
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OI2L1u9WWcQ

I don't expect you to be able to tell the difference.

I can tell they're different pieces.

Can you find where they play the same music?

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