Chris Bonds wrote:

>The Borodin on the other hand is a worthy performance, but if you have not
>heard the old Budapest, you really must.  It is on "Masterworks Heritage"
>along with Opp.  127, 131, and 135.  the minuet from op. 18/5 is included
>as filler. ...  They also know how to use vibrato, which seems to have
>eluded the Emersonians.

Thanks, Chris, for your recommendations.  I'll try to find that recording
in Tower or similar.  I would like to buy also the box which contains all
the Deaf One's late string quartets by the Italiano, and keep, as you say,
the Emersonian recording as an example of how not to play them.  Respecting
the lack of vibrato and the coolness of this version at the "Heiliger
Dankgesang", I wondered (ingenuously maybe) why did these boys play it so.
The only answer I find is because they wanted to point the contrast between
the slow modal sections (which perhaps in their opinion, could represent
the illness) and the feeling of "neue kraft" that comes later.  I don't
like much this interpretation, and I don't know actually if the performers
thinked it so.  It is true, however, that when one is under the effect of
a depression, such as happens during certain kinds of illness, the entire
world becomes as dead and meaningless as the Emerson's performance, but
it's not a reason for drowning the music.  Other possible reason, that I
like even less than the other, is the anti-romantic prejudice that often
invades many instrumentists and conductors, even when they're playing
romantic music.

Pablo Massa
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