To play the standard repertoire with the sense of excitement and discovery of a new work and play new works with a reverence usually reserved for the classics: that was the mission of the Juilliard String Quartet when it was founded in 1946 at New Yorks elite conservatory by its then director, composer William Schuman. Within a short time, it had leapt to the forefront of the American chamber-music scene and embarked on what would become an exceptionally long and distinguished recording career. Now, following up its acclaimed reissue of the Juilliard Quartets early releases on Columbias Epic label, Sony Classical is pleased to present a single collection of all the recordings that the Juilliard made during its brief stint at RCA Victor between 1957 and 1960. In the words of a ClassicsToday critic reviewing an earlier reissue of several of these performances, the ensembles lean sonorities, rhythmic exactitude, relatively swift tempos, and energetic, often virtuosic playing that illuminated a repertoire heavy in contemporary music created quite a stir when it turned to the Viennese classics with its RCA recordings of Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven. At the time, the sprung rhythms, wide dynamics, and straight-ahead playing that refused to wallow in melodic beauties made the groups interpretations seem outside the mainstream. But mainstream tends to shift over time; we now can hear these recordings in a changed context that makes them pioneering ventures blazing new paths. One could also bestow this accolade on other performances in the new set, such as the quartets revelatory reading of Schuberts Death and the Maiden, Bergs Lyric Suite and the French coupling, about which High Fidelity observed: The Juilliard players do not soften, sentimentalize, or languish over this music, but emphasize its link with classic tradition, employing brisk tempos and powerful, straightforward rhythms. The result is quite astonishing: Debussy and Ravel come out more moving and beautiful than ever.
