At first a great risk may seem to be involved, but on a closer hearing it proves to be a special stroke of luck. Outstanding personalities like Emanuel Feuermann and Bram Eldering have made history with the Gürzenich Quartet, and today, just as throughout the ensemble’s 125-year history, the orchestral origin of the musicians continues to mark the ensemble’s unique sound.

The Gürzenich Quartet’s latest CD release features not one but two classical heavyweights.

Drawing on the experience of their countless performances in the orchestra pit, which require split-second reactions to spontaneous impulses from the stage, the four musicians have what it takes to produce gripping results. How impressively and trimly the beginning of Beethoven’s op.18,5 is presented! And how sparklingly the filigree theme of the finale shifts from instrument to instrument! Suddenly we realize how it is that Beethoven’s early quartet, even though thoroughly classical in tone, points ahead to his late oeuvre and beyond it.

“A whole lot of beauty in a compact form”: such was the verdict of Theodor Billroth, the dedicatee of the first two quartets by Johannes Brahms. The members of the Gürzenich Quartet accomplish the artistic feat of conveying this beauty in sound without obliging the public – as Billroth had recommended – to prepare for the listening experience with the score and at the piano.