Beethoven Grosse Fuge & String Quartet No. 16 - Amadeus Quartet

Captured in legendary 1962 and 1963 Berlin sessions, these definitive Amadeus Quartet performances present a compelling dialogue between Ludwig van Beethoven's most monumental utterance and his final farewell to the medium. The program pairs the Grosse Fuge in B-flat major, Op. 133, whose radical dissonance and uncompromising scale led Igor Stravinsky to famously declare it an absolutely contemporary piece of music that will be contemporary forever, with the String Quartet No. 16 in F major, Op. 135, Beethoven's final completed work. Trading titanic struggle for classical transparency and lyrical intimacy, the final movement features the famous enigmatic inscription Der schwer gefasste Entschluss, meaning The Difficult Resolution, and the haunting motto Muss es sein? Es muss sein!, meaning Must it be? It must be!, bringing a legendary journey to a serene close. Artist(s): Amadeus Quartet: Norbert Brainin (violin), Siegmund Nissel (violin), Peter Schidlof (viola), Martin Lovett (cello) Recording Info: Grosse Fuge in B-flat major, Op. 133: Recorded: 1962 at Jesus-Christus-Kirche, Berlin String Quartet No. 16 in F major, Op. 135: Recorded: 1963 at UFA-Tonstudio, Berlin Sourced from a 4-track tape Components used for Transfer: This transfer leverages precision analogue playback and mastering-grade digital conversion. The signal path begins with an extensively modified Nagra 4SJ Reel-to-Reel with Flux Heads, fed through a Custom Tape Pre-amp designed by Victor Khomenko of Balanced Audio Technology for accurate NAB equalisation. The analogue signal is converted via a Merging Hapi converter, powered by a Teddy Pardo dedicated linear power supply synchronised to an Antelope Audio 10MX atomic clock for temporal accuracy. All components receive isolated power conditioning through a Shunyata Research Everest 8000 with Shunyata Sigma-X power cords, while grounding infrastructure utilises Shunyata ALTAIRA hubs to minimise noise floor and preserve sonic detail throughout the transfer chain. Grosse Fuge in B-flat major, Op. 133 1 Overtura. Allegro. Meno mosso e moderato. Allegro. Fuga 4:40 2 Meno mosso e moderato 2:53 3 Allegro molto e con brio 3:29 4 Meno mosso e moderato 1:00 5 Allegro molto e con brio 1:49 6 Allegro 1:23 String Quartet No. 16 in F major, Op. 135 7 Allegretto 6:40 8 Vivace 3:23 9 Lento assai, cantante e tranquillo 8:05 10 Der Schwer Gefasste Entschluss. Grave. Allegro. Grave ma non troppo tratto. Allegro 6:57 Please Note: This release was edited in DXD PCM from a DSD256 Master then the DXD edited master was used to generate the final DSD files using Merging Technologies Album Publishing. DXD (352.8KHz 24/32 bit PCM) is one of the best and least destructive formats for post-processing DSD originated digital recordings Copyright © & ℗ High Definition Tape Transfers 2026, including all compilation, transfer, remastering, and restoration aspects Play Sample Tracks