Quatuor Mosaiques - Mendelssohn: String Quartets op.12 & op.13 (1998)

Mendelssohn's first two string quartets are some of the greatest - and most overlooked - music in the genre. Deeply influenced by Beethoven in their ambition and complexity, but nonetheless distinctly "Mendelssohnian" in their melodic beauty and elegance, these works have not been better served than here by the Talich Quartet. Taking somewhat slower tempi, they invest the music with great intensity and richness of sound. This is wonderful music-making, and I prefer these accounts to all the others I've heard, including recent recordings by the Mosaiques and Alban Berg. This is a must buy. You won't regret it!