Pascal Quartet


The Pascal Quartet was a French string quartet musical ensemble which took shape during the early 1940s and emerged after World War II to become a leading representative of the French performance tradition. It was named after its founder, the viola player Léon Pascal, and was occasionally termed the Leon Pascal Quartet.

Personnel

Throughout its recording career during the 1940s and 1950s, the personnel comprised:
1st violin: Jacques Dumont
2nd violin: Maurice Crut
viola: Léon Pascal
violoncello: Robert Salles

Origins

During the 1930s Léon Pascal occupied the viola desk in the celebrated Calvet Quartet, with Joseph Calvet, Daniel Guilevitch and Paul Mas. Pascal appears in the 1931-1938 recordings made by that ensemble. The recordings of the Pascal Quartet begin before 1945. The quality of the soloists with whom they recorded attest to the standing of the Pascal Quartet. McNaught said of them that 'due praise would mean a further search for words.' Record Year 2, on the other hand, found many faults with their Beethoven cycle, which others have admired intensely.

Recordings

  • Beethoven: Complete string quartets: variant arrangements:
Nixa 13 LPs CLP 1201-1213, Issued 1953: Includes op 2 no 3 C major coupled with op 18 no 1 ; Op 18 2 & 3 ; op 18 4 & 5 ; op 18 no 6 & op 95 ; op 59, 1, 2 & 3 ; op 74, ; op 127, 130 & 131 ; op 133 & op 135 ; op 132.

The Classics Record Library, on 10 LPs, released in 1957. Includes op 18 nos 1-6 ; Quartets nos 7-11 ; Quartets 12-16 and Grosse Fuge.

Concert Hall Society label, 10 LPs "Recorded in France": Includes op 18 1-6 ; op 59 1-3 ; op 74 & op 95 ; op 127 & op 135 ; op 130 & Grosse Fuge op 133 ; op 131 and op 132.
, Ulysse Delecluse and M. Boussagol . ).

The Debussy and Fauré recordings have been reissued recently on the Pristine Audio label, remastered from LP disc sources by Peter Harrison.