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.
What it is about in string quartet performance,
is everything is tremendously exposed
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.
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.
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.
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.
the differences, and what each quartet
does better (or worse) than the other.
Provide time marks and links to the
score.
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.
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.
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.
On Friday, April 28, 2023 at 1:32:46???PM UTC+2, Dan Koren wrote:
BTW both the Ébène and the Artemis are aSo what? They perform in the same artistic market.
generation older than the Esmé. It makes
no sense to compare ensembles founded
in 1989 and 1999, respectively, with one
founded in 2016.
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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