Soloist-led string quartets on disc stretch from the Rose, Busch and Paganini Quartets (the latter led by the brilliant Polish violinist Henri Temianka) to the (Thomas) Zehetmair and Chiaroscuro Quartets, where the brilliant and imaginative Alina Ibragimova is in the driving seat. All have tended to take on aspects of the lead voice, though being a ‘first among equals’ is invariably a guiding principle. Regarding this new release of the first three Beethoven quartets, on the plus side the highly accomplished Chiaroscuro promote an ‘Ibragimovian’ view of Beethoven that is above all dynamic, intelligent, agile and argumentative, with much vividly attenuated phrasing added to the mix. At 4'57" into the first movement of the First Quartet, for example, where some quiet, pregnant exchanges precede a violent, cello-led onslaught, Beethoven’s unique brand of rhetoric is given its head. The impassioned outbursts that tear at the core of the second-movement Adagio affettuoso ed appassionato also ratchet up the tension but come the last two movements, doubts began to creep in regarding a handful of issues, one being an apparent inability to smile (save for the finale of the Third Quartet, which suggests a mischievous chuckle).

The Second and Third Quartets inhabit a far brighter world than the Sturm und Drang First, an abundance of lyricism being among their most endearing qualities. With the Chiaroscuro Quartet a degree of loving attentiveness is lacking. The Second Quartet’s Adagio is marked cantabile – in other words, worthy to be sung – but here the mood is disappointingly sober, as if singing were somehow beneath the music’s (or the quartet’s) dignity. Try the Alban Berg Quartet (Warner Classics) for comparison, where the music radiates happily on the shoulders of Valentin Erben’s glorious cello-playing. The Third Quartet’s Andante con moto is again rather dour in comparison with the Bergs, the Juilliard Quartet (their 1982 live recordings, Sony), Quatuor Ébène (Erato, 11/20) and, to take a memorably loving option, the Elias Quartet (Wigmore Hall Live, 3/17).

Now, before the HIP lobby complains, yes, I do understand that ‘expressive’ doesn’t necessarily mean laying on vibrato with a trowel (though the Chiaroscuro don just an occasional hint of a tremor), but that’s not really the main issue. Compare the Chiaroscuro with the Elias in the Scherzo of Op 18 No 2 and you’re talking sunlight (Elias) as opposed to grey-tinted, proficient rapidity. A lean attack is all well and good but to tell the full story of Op 18 you need more grit, more in the way of ‘Beethovenian’ muscle as well as an element of rugged humour. This is another area where the Chiaroscuro Quartet can fall short: they’re consistently serious, forgetting perhaps that this is not ‘late’ Beethoven – although the late quartets are frequently lightened by humorous episodes – but the work of a keen, relatively young mind finding its feet.

If this is the beginning of a Beethoven cycle, perhaps the virtuoso Chiaroscuros will better fit the grids of Opp 59, 74, 95 and those late masterpieces. As to Op 18, I’d wager a bet that if Nos 4 6 are en route, the comparatively urgent No 4 will fare better than the sunnier last two quartets in the set. But I could well be wrong. Andrew Keener’s production values are of a consistently high standard.