Camerata Nordica, Terje Tønnesen - Beethoven - The Late String Quartets Arranged for String Orchestra (2013)

While there have been scattered recordings of a few of Beethoven's late string quartets arranged for string orchestra -- one thinks of Bernstein's expressive F major Quartet with the strings of the Wiener Philharmoniker, of Sandor Végh's searing C sharp minor Quartet with the Camerata Academica Salzburg, and of Klemperer's vigorous B flat major Grosse Fuge with the Philharmonia -- this three-disc set is the first recording of all the late quartets arranged for string orchestra. All the arrangements here are newly written for this set by violinist Terje Tonnesen, and they turn out to be significantly different from earlier arrangements. Tonnesen clearly took greater pains to articulate the differences between intimate lines and fuller textures by giving the former to solo strings and the later to the whole string section, and the results are clean, direct transcriptions that polish the harshness of Beethoven's late style with the smoothness of multiple strings. In these expertly played if not especially inspired performances by the Camerata Nordica recorded in deep, warm sound by Altara between 2001 and 2005, Tonnesen's arrangements are given the best possible shot at wider circulation. Whether they'll be embraced by other chamber orchestras and an international audience remains to be seen.