If you are an amateur, you say String Quartet number 15. If you’re a bit more pretentious, you call it ‘the opus 161‘, with a possible upgrade to ‘D 887‘, or maybe even ‘Deutsch 887′. And you assume of course that the person you’re talking to understands your boast. But the real holy grail of classical music bragging rights, and even more so in chamber music, is when you can say ‘the String Quartet in G major‘.
This is a nice recording, but I’m a bit annoyed with the cover. I know, you should not judge a recording by its cover, but I’m just saying. What on earth are they looking at?!? Or maybe it is not even on earth, given the raised faces. The picture is taken in the Amsterdam Concertgebouw by the way. That might also give an explanation about where they are looking: the might look at the stage, which is rather elevated from the floor of the venue. Still, a weird pose, don’t you think?