50th Anniversary of the Allegri Quartet

Album review

Formed in 1953, the Allegri String Quartet has changed its members more frequently than some people change their shirts. The liner notes, in fact, are devoted to a laundry list of the various short-lived members that have occupied the four chairs. It's a little difficult, therefore, to be excited about an album celebrating the 50th anniversary of an ensemble whose name is its only consistent element over time. At the time of this release, second violinist Peter Carter retained the longest tenure at 25 years.
Listening to the excerpts presented here makes getting excited about this album even more difficult because the Allegri's playing is a mess. Their intonation is poor, and in more rhythmically complex twentieth century works by Shostakovich, Stravinsky, and Britten, the four play as if they were each sitting in a different room, totally unaware of what the other was doing. Even more standard works like the Beethoven Op. 131 Quartet falls quite flat; the Presto is remarkably slow and still not together. The recorded sound quality is also questionable; all four instruments seem muffled and unfocused, like listening to a performance from the lobby of the concert hall.

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