Karl Miller writes:

>I wonder if Beethoven "got it" for himself in his late quartets.
>For me, like other late works by composers of substance, I think they
>were often times reaching beyond themselves.  I find this in works like
>Bartok's 6th Quartet, or Copland's Inscape.

Regarding the Bartok 6th, have you tried the 1950 Juilliard version? 
I humbly say you absolutely must if you haven't--it's like no other:
Simplicity, sadness, naivete, absurdity, cold terror, resignation, and
finally those few last, expiring folksongish plucks on the 'cello.  The
End is his Beginning.  Some say that the 6th is enigmatic, but I don't
hear it that way--it sounds to me like a patchwork of random memories,
feelings, or sensations.  What marvels me is how intoxicating it all
turns out.  The Juilliard's get it IHMO.  Their remakes don't even come
close.  I can't say enough about both this last quartet or the performance.
I urge anyone to pick it, (them), up on CD or LP.  Just make sure it's
the mono 1950 Juilliard set, not the later stereo.  The riches within....

John Smyth
Sacramento, CA.

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