Record hunting in Berlin, Part Two: Discovering 33rpm.de and the Loewenguth Quartet of Paris

Deutsche Grammophon LPM 18312
Debussy: String Quartet in G minor
Ravel: String Quartet in F major

Loewenguth-Quartett, Paris:

Alfred Loewenguth, violin

Maurice Fueri, violin

Roger Roche, viola

Pierre Basseux, cello

Date first published: 1957 (for this coupling)

Matrix numbers: 18312-8A / 18312-5B

I recently found this record while browsing the shelves at 33rpm.de, a dedicated classical record shop in Berlin, Germany. The owner, Volker Mueller, has been selling records via his internet website (33rpm.de) since the late 1990's. I remember coming across his website in the early 2000's when I was just getting started with record collecting, and it was just about two weeks ago that I had the pleasure of meeting Volker at his business establishment (it looks less like a typical record shop and more like a private apartment) on Fidicinstraße for the first time. If you ever are in Berlin and are hunting for classical records, I would highly recommend paying Volker a visit. He has a pretty extensive selection of classical records for sale, certainly one of the largest ones that I have ever seen with my own eyes. I would advise calling him or sending him an email before stopping by, just to make sure that he is in the shop.

The records are organized alphabetically by composer, with separate areas for single record albums and box sets. I could have spent an entire day here but limited myself to just under an hour. Prices are reasonable, but expect to pay more for more collectible albums. You can also search his website or contact him by email if you are looking for particular items of interest. Volker has his own system of grading records:  A+ is the top grade, followed by A, A-, B+, and so on, a system that he finds to be more informative than the Goldmine grading system. He told me that most of the records are A and above.  

I had not heard of the Loewenguth Quartet of Paris prior to discovering this album but took this opportunity to learn more about this ensemble. The quartet was founded in 1929 by French violinist Alfred Loewenguth (1911-1983) and was active from the 1930s to the 1970s. It consisted initially of Loewenguth (1st violin), Maurice Fuéri (2nd violin), J. George (viola), and Pierre Basseux (cello). While the lineup evolved over the years, perhaps the best known incarnation of the quartet was made up of Loewenguth, Fuéri, Roger Roche (viola), and Basseux.

The Loewenguth Quartet recorded for multiple labels, among which were Deutsche Grammophon/Archiv, Vox, Philips, Westminster, Les Discophiles Français, and Club National du Disque. This monophonic disc coupling the Debussy and Ravel string quartets was released in 1957. According to Discogs, it appears that the Ravel may have been first released on a 10 inch disc in 1953 (16073 LP), and the Debussy was initially paired with a Haydn quartet and released in 1954 (LPM 18137). Given the beauty of these performances reproduced in rich, detailed, resonant, and clear sound, I can see why the record was awarded the Grand Prix du Disque Paris. I love these string quartets and have listened to many different analog and digital recordings of them over the years; listening to this recording reminded me of the magic I felt when I first heard them as a teenager. If you, too, are a fan of these quartets, I strongly urge you to check out this record.

Interestingly, the Loewenguth Quartet released a stereo recording of the same two quartets on the Vox and Club National du Disque labels in 1962, this time with a different lineup: Alfred Loewenguth (1st violin), Jacques Gotkovsky (2nd violin), Roger Roche (viola), and Roger Loewenguth (Alfred's brother; cello).

If you have any thoughts or insight into the Loewenguth Quartet of Paris and their recordings, please feel free to share them in the comments below.