Beethoven String Quartet Op.59 No.1 "Razumovsky" 

So happy to see this again. I am the very proud parent of Michael, the second violinist. This was performed at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, Massachusetts, where he was a student. He started playing violin around age 5. Just a kid from a town in Iowa who fell in love with violin and classical music. He would willingly practice about 8 hours per day, and I loved hearing his music throughout our home. He is now with the Florestan String Quartet, and has traveled to many countries playing violin with various string quartets. Additionally, he hopes to be offered an orchestra position now that he has just received his Masters Degree in Violin Performance.

So proud of my son! Matthew Vera I love you!

The viola player is impeccably in synch with the pizz of the violins. They literally sound like one!!!! The whole ensemble is incredible. Hats off!!!!!

I want to credit someone extremely important in the creation of this fun and passionate performance: Roger Tapping. In all his magnificence, he spent countless hours with us each week working on the fine nuances of these phrases, sharing incredibly detailed knowledge of Beethoven and chamber music, and bringing out our beautiful sound through these phrases of music. Even with mistakes here and there in this performance, Roger came to us afterwards beaming with kindness, joy, and the type of support that you only see from a person who truly loves sharing music and sharing deep well thought out knowledge and passion. To this day and moving forward, he will always be a musical inspiration for me. He touched the hearts of every person who got to experience him in all facets of his life. Seeing Roger in the hallways at Juilliard after I had graduated NEC was truly a “welcome home” feeling. His kind smile, a quick hello when he was rushing somewhere, or even the thoughtful longer conversations that we had provided solace for me at a new school where I felt lost. The life he brought to music will be sustained through every person who was lucky enough to work with him, through audiences who have been lucky enough to hear him, and countless others. Thank you, Roger. 💛

This year 2020 it is 250 years since Beethoven was born. Another reason to celebrate this wonderful music.

Expressive viola

3rd movement is one of the most beautiful music i have ever listened. Love you Beethoven

01:10 Allegro 11:25 Allegretto vivace e sempre scherzando 20:27 Adagio molto e mesto 33:12 Allegro. Thème Russe

The 3rd movement of this piece is absolutely breathtaking. One of the most beautiful things Beethoven ever wrote.

Soeben habe ich dieses wunderbare Streichquartett entdeckt. Alles erstklassige Musiker! Besonders die Art des Spiels von David, seine Körpersprache und Mimik, hat mich sehr beeindruckt. Er öffnet mir die Musik noch mehr, macht sie quasi körperlich spürbar. Grossen Dank an alle vier. Weltklasse!

this is beautiful. medical school is terrible and soul crushing. Beethoven's string quartets and trios (and of course, his violin concerto) make studying bearable.

Taking a Music History class and just read that back in 1806, Beethoven composed this piece for the Russian ambassador to Vienna at the time Count Rasumovsky who was a violinist himself and a member of a quartet thought to be one of the finest in Europe. When the ambassador's quartet sat to read the music they thought Beethoven was joking with them, which is why I had to look this up. This is really pretty and these musicians are amazing. Thanks for posting. : )

The sense of musicianship here is staggeringly beautiful :D You can just sense their sincere appreciation for this composition.

These guys are amazing! Great viola playing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I remember my violin teacher telling me these terms and she would always shout ALLEGRO ALLEGRO! at the start! she enjoyed watching our orchestra play but for some reason I found it daunting and loathed playing. How I hear this quartet play each of their parts brings me fully back to the countless hours that I actually remember practicing. The best point was when you could play the whole exerpt or song fully with 100% accuracy, and then adding more expression to the strokes of your bow, adding twiddles and showing your dexterity and mental capacity to arrive on beat at a moments notice!! Truly splendid!

No orchestra to hide. Well played. Fascinating conversation between instruments.

over and over i listen. i worship these four. thank god for them, bless them through long and wonderful careers filled with acclaim.

I hope these young musicians stick together, because on the form they show here they could have a great future as a professional quartet. I am blown away by the splendid way they have met the enormous challenges of this my favourite Beethoven string quartet (especially their brilliant handling of the dynamics and light-and-shade of the whimsically spooky second movement. This is a great performance!

i love that violist

One of my favorite performances on RU-vid. 👍

wonderful young quartet. Lyricism stands out.

Oh....my.... This is one of the highest compositions of musical genius I can recall hearing (of course the playing is absolutely phenomenal).

Wonderful performance, deserving all the applause at the end.

These young people died an amazing job with this difficult quartet. Bravo to their teachers and to the ensemble work together.

What a beautiful performance! Congratulations to all of you !

This is my FAVORITE orchestral performance I've been listening to it for years - to all the musicians, well well well done, beautiful music.

Dieses Quartett zu hören, ist der eine Kunstgenuss - diese Streicher spielen zu sehen, ein noch weiterer. Hinter jedem Takt steckt "Power, auch bei den eher zarten und "stillen" Passagen. Besonders eindrucksvoll erscheint mir der Bratscher mit seinem Engagement. Musik, gute Musik, ist jedenfalls eine Weltsprache.

so refreshing to see and hear these young people performing great music .

A truly brilliant performance of one of the high points of chamber music. Nine years later this performance still stuns. Thank you.

I have known this quartet for 65 years. I have heard or listened to numerous presentations. This offering is superb but even more, they are so very young. As someone else noted, I hope they stay together.

A joy to the eyes and an exquisite delight to the ear. Thank you Beethoven and thank you 4 young interpreters of his music. Above all thank you Jehovah God for creating us with the abilities to compose, play and appreciate beautiful music.

1:09 Allegro 11:25 Allegretto 20:27 Adagio 33:12 Théme Russe

It's amazing to hear the depth of musicianship coming from such a young group. Each of them will have a brilliant career and so well deserved.

There are some really special moments in this performance - great communication between the lower strings. Very nice.

The most beautiful, pre-romantic slow movement in a string quartet by Beethoven.

This is a really phenomenal performance - great interpretation and wonderful playing by all 4 of these incredible young musicians.

Classy, youthful performance, made me cry, the acid test.

I can feel the passion in this music being played by youthful artists! It is absolutely lovely and a blessing to my ears! Thank you!

Surprisingly good execution coming from so young performers. Beethovenian moods arise from a mature soul, and these interpreters, through their faces and bodies transmit us a deep understanding of the composer. Thanks .

Such wonderful playing. They really get to the heart of the music especially in the heart wrenching slow movement. They would play late Beethoven really well

Elegant, charming. Pleasurable to listen too.

I do so adore it when young people do something like this. Bravo! BTW This performance is beautiful...

This performance is exceptional. Really enjoyed listing while I work from home during the COVID Pandemic. Be safe everyone and stay healthy.

Brilliant... Their performance makes my heart happy 😄

Magnificent performance, probably the best ever played and I'm very happy they captured the performance on tape, for posterity! Kudos all around and very well deserved.

These young musicians are truly extraordinary. A delightful interpretation of one Beethoven's most wonderful creations. Thank you!

great perfomance, Matthew Vera and Michael Rau David Mason Marza Wilks congratulations

Beethoven's three Op. 59 quartets are a jewel in the crown of his middle years. Just savour the third movement of No. 1 and the second of No. 2. They are so inventive and, at times, intriguing. The young players here are first-rate. Altogether, what a graceful video! Many thanks.

So great and wonderful. Beethoven's music was complex and difficult to play. Musicians in his day often hated having to play his compositions because they were often not sufficiently skilled to do the job. He was radical for his time. These young musicians were masterful. What a great pleasure watching them.

1st movement: 0:00 2nd Movement: 11:20 3rd Movement: 20:13 4th Movement: 32:56 (I think, could be wrong) :))

This flipped on as a "next" video while I was fixing breakfast, such a surprise to see it appears to be high schoolers, made my Sunday morning

Beautiful beyond words. And ... uh ... I can’t believe the 1st violinist’s chair doesn’t slide out from under him. ;).

My god, these kids are talented! Such an inspiration

this is some good mature playing from such young people. I like the lightness of touch int he first movement, I'm sure this is just what beethoven intended. The dynamics are beautifully used to bring out the bestof the music.

What a wonderful group of musicians. So much more than notes on a page (an extreme understatement) Flawless playing and interpretation!

Beautiful people playing beautiful music by a divine prophet of emotion. I'm listening over and over.

Great performance!! I wanted to show the kids how the different string instruments play together, and damn --- I found this!!!

A hauntingly beautiful quartet and an amazing performance!

Great job all four of you -Thank You. And Marza, anyone who has ever tried to play Cello knows that you're talented and you work diligently at your craft.

I actually don't look at them perform. I just listen. I look after I hear the music.

A pleasing sound for the senses! Simply beautiful! Thank you for sharing.

Very enjoyable composition and performance!

What a wonderful performance from the four of you! Thank you for all the hours and years of practice you've put in. I love it!

Impeccable performance, wonderful recording! Thanks for posting.

So fresh and lyrical - this is just gorgeous!

Bravo! Beethoven is smiling in heaven. To hear his music played with such wonderful passion and grace.

This young quartet has a future before it. Wonderful interplay and musician ship.. Pacing and phrasing artfully performed. Bravo!

Fantastic, love that a next generation has the depth of feelings to communicate Beethoven.

That cello is so rich and divine

That is some of the best viola playing I've ever heard! Thanks, David!

One of my favorite quartets from THE MASTER!!! Excellent performance by all players.

Brilliant performance - Bravo!! It amazes me that such a young string quartet can play this music with such congeniality. As someone else noted: lets hope they stay together! I would certainly love to see them perform sometime in the future!

Such beautiful music (I had not heard "Razumovsky" No.1 in a long time.). The string playing was as good as I could remember, impassioned, original, youthful. Beethoven, grumpily, would have loved this performance.

I have listened to this specific RU-vid video many, many times over the years. I loved my old recording of the Budapest playing this quartet and knew all of the Beethoven quartets as a HS kid because of the Budapest and Juilliard recordings. Other than the Late Quartets, 59, #1 is my favorite. I was listening today to accompany a home session of physical therapy for a new knee and it just struck me that this music and this performance is life-giving, healing, uplifting, and just d*** good! I put away the PT for 45 minutes and lay on my pad and soared and swooped with the young LvB and these young, but very mature, players. It would be terrific if these musicians formed a quartet and gave performances of the quality in this video! I love the youthfulness and vitality of this music. If the 3rd Symphony is an outward manifestation of "eroica-ness." this quartet is the spiritual flip-side!

I love this so much. I play it in the background every time I am doing school writing assignments. Thank you! :)

What an outstanding live performance of this very difficult work! Beautiful - congratulations to the performers!

what a world of subtle emotion in these incredible 16!

U n b e l i e v a b l e how high a level these young people have already reached, made my day!

Agree with all the praise, richly deserved. Used this to introduce a friend in her late eighties, a highly intelligent lady whose education was devastated by the Holocaust but who is a serious lover of classical music (and not only classical) to her first Beethoven string quartet. What a wonderful way to introduce them into someone's life! How much depth to explore for the rest of one's life!

Awesome. :D Makes me smile. Actually I don't want to step away from my computer for a minute and miss a second of this. Listen @ 21:00. Amazing chord progression around there. Props to Beethoven. But also props to these guys who are spreading the love that is Beethoven's music

A monumental accomplishment - I am sure these guys agonize over the imperfections... but they really created some amazing musical moments in this performance. I watched the entire quartet and found so many great passages... thanks for sharing this!

4 wonderful players; bravissimo.

Sublime ensemble, tout est juste...fougue, vivacité, jeunesse, amour...de plus je ne connaissais pas ce quatuor Razumvosky, qui laisse entrevoir les quatuors plus tardifs, on reconnait certains motifs...difficile de parler de la musique....bref une maestria d'interpretation....

Fabulous playing by four talented musicians! Very much enjoyed listening to you tackle this beautiful and difficult quartet. Solid performance!

Finding this particular performance of my fave Beethoven string quartet was such a blessing!! This is an amazing example of perfect timing, playing, interpretation, and musicianship. Thank You so much, Matthew, Michael, David, and Marza!

Wonderful performance! (Ignore the critics in “comments”) The beautiful young lady sweeping lovely cello is perfectly dressed despite some ignorant critics in comments; plays the cello so smooth of tone and at the right balance; the expressive Viola is admirable. In the Adagio the 1st violinist on the left, is perfectly in sync with cello; 2nd violinist on left, besides being uncommonly handsome, is also subtle and nuanced. The viola on right very expressive and enthusiastic. These youthful performers did an admirable interpretation of Beethoven’s complex Quartet.

What a great performance of a wonderful piece of music.

I like and prefer this performance than that of Obeythoven with proffesional musicians. Here altogether do it great. And the camera is not wandering in a nonsense translation from violins to viola and cello. These Young musicians are really outstanding. Bravo!!

Four young people make me feel like I'l flying in the huge cloud of music. They built a bridge between earth and heaven.

Just wonderful! I am so fond of this performance. Thank you!

Чудове виконання! Браво!

These guys did an amazing job, kudos to them, really something to be proud of! This came up in the autoplay for me. I was really enjoying the performance without glancing at the details, and was blow away part way through when I checked and saw how young they were. This was from nearly five years ago now. I hope they are continuing to play with one another. The world would be a better place if they are!

Wonderful, informed and inspired performance and interpretation! 👍🌺💕🌹👏

So beautiful! Just amazing.

Like to add my appreciation to the many positive comments; didn't see the critical ones, and don't need to.... rarely read the occasional bad-mouthing, especially of performances so excellent - enough of that in the world......

The adagio at 22:47 sends one to the stars OMG!

This quartet is magnificent and a favorite of mine as I've played this many times in my quartet. The violins are extraordinary as is the cellist, but the Viola's has been touched by God.

So wonderful to see the greatness of Beethoven appreciated and extended into the youth of today.

These young people knew how to fully understand Beethoven's music in all its nature, excellent!!! bravo

I'm amazed!! Congratulations and thank you to all the people involved!! This is so inspiring!! Chamber orquestra performances have always been my prefered ones in classical music, and this one is breathtaking in so many aspects!! Overwhelming!! Beautiful!