Sounds of Celebration: The J.S.Q. on CD

There are plenty of string quartets with long histories, but few have been so consistently influential as the Juilliard Quartet, which celebrates its 60th year this season. Not only did the Juilliard create a modern, distinctly American approach to quartet playing in the 1940s, but it also went on to premiere more than 60 pieces by American composers and record some 100 albums. As the quartet-in-residence at Juilliard, its members—currently violinists Joel Smirnoff and Ronald Copes, violist Samuel Rhodes, and cellist Joel Krosnick—have helped train several generations of American quartets.

This season the J.S.Q. is marking its anniversary with a number of events, including the release of a new a two-CD set of the Shostakovich Quartets Nos. 3, 14, and 15, and the Piano Quintet with Yefim Bronfman (Sony Classical 79018). In an age when many quartets favor a rough and edgy approach, the Juilliard here seems to recognize that the technical demands of Shostakovich are just as vital as the interpretive ones. They never slash or hack their way through the music's more violent moments, always maintaining smooth legato, secure balances, and a burnished tone. It's evident in the tasteful (yet still appropriately sarcastic) violin solo of the first movement from the Third Quartet, and in the diamond-hard, snapping pizzicatos of the same work's third movement. There's also a lyrical emphasis, as in the Quartet No. 14, in which Krosnick deftly negotiates the searing first-movement theme. You may find more gut-wrenching versions of these works but the Juilliard places them in the pure classical quartet tradition.

Part of the Juilliard's founding mission in 1946 was to champion 20th-century repertoire. The following year the original group—violinists Robert Mann and Robert Koff, violist Raphael Hillyer, and cellist Arthur Winograd—gave the first American performances of the six Bartok quartets and in 1949 it recorded the first of three complete cycles (others were made in 1963 and 1981). Unfortunately only the last account is currently available as a complete set; one can, however, sample the 1949 version of the Quartet No. 4, along with a 1963 performance of No. 3 and a 1983 version of No. 6 on a disc assembled for the J.S.Q.'s 50th anniversary (Sony 62705). Even in this sampler one hears the furious energy and sharp-edged sound of the original quartet. (You can catch the J.S.Q. performing the complete Bartok quartets this month in two concerts at the school whose name the group proudly bears.)

Along with Bartok, the Juilliard is equally well known for its Beethoven. The ensemble made a high-octane Beethoven cycle in the 1980s, and today one can find a three-CD set of the late quartets. For a fascinating generational comparison, check out a sampler CD (Sony 62706) containing the group's 1964 recording of the Beethoven "Razumovsky" Quartet in C Major, Op. 59, No. 3, and the Quartet in F Major, Op. 135, made under an almost entirely different lineup in 1982.

Some of the Juilliard's finest recordings have featured guest artists. Especially worth seeking out are a two-disc set of the Brahms String Quartets and Clarinet Quintet with the clarinetist Charles Neidich from 1993-94 (Sony 66285), a lush account of the Schubert Quintet with Bernard Greenhouse as the second cellist, made for the quartet's 40th anniversary (Sony 42383), and finally, an idiosyncratic account of the Schumann Piano Quartet from 1968 with the pianist Glenn Gould (Sony 52684).

It's worth noting that, in the last year, the Juilliard has been busy again in the recording studio; besides the Shostakovich album, Bridge Records released a disc of string quartets with the soprano Benita Valente (Bridge 9192) and Sony has also showcased the quartet in a collection of composer Jay Greenberg's music (reviewed in last month's column). While it doesn't hurt to have an anniversary to help promote them, it's also a sign of the group's continued vitality and esteem.

Brian Wise is a producer at WNYC radio and writes about music for The New York Times, Time Out New York , Opera News, and other publications.