Quartetto Italiano - Beethoven: The Complete String Quartets (1996)

The Quartetto Italiano's claims are strongest in the Op 18 Quartets. They offer eminently civilised, thoughtful and aristocratic readings.
Their approach is reticent but they also convey a strong sense of making music in domestic surroundings.
Quite frankly, you couldn't do very much better than this set. In the middle-period quartets the Italians are hardly less distinguished, even though there are times when the Végh offer deeper insights, as in the slow movement of Op 59 No 1. Taken in isolation, however, the Quartetto Italiano remain eminently satisfying both musically and as recorded sound.
As far as sound quality is concerned, it's rich and warm. In Opp 74 and 95, they more than hold their own against all comers. These are finely proportioned readings, poised and articulate.
The gain in clarity because of the remastering entails a very slight loss of warmth in the middle register, but as recordings the late quartets, made between 1967 and 1969, can hold their own against their modern rivals. Not all of these received universal acclaim at the time of their first release. The opening fugue of Op 131 is too slow at four-in-the-bar and far more espressivo than it should be, but, overall, these performances still strike a finely judged balance between beauty and truth, and are ultimately more satisfying and searching than most of their rivals.