https://www.discogs.com/release/4938487-Béla-Bartók-The-Fine-Arts-Quartet-String-Quartets-No-5-No-6
The three records of the Bartók quartets found their way into my hands as a set. I assume they were owned by the same person before me. So it was quite surprising to me that the last two of the set was performed by a different quartet. The recording comes from the same time, although this time it is done in stereo.
The Fine Arts Quartet is based in Chicago. They exist to this day, but not with the same members. In the forties and fifties they were very active on television, and they were a regular on the Ed Sullivan show. The recordings of the Bartók Quartets were preceded by a documentary series about them.
The sixth quartet was premiered in New York, when Bartók already moved to the US. I never found a change in tone however: I think these six quartets really are good as a set. Sure, there is development, but no revolution. Bartók stays Bartók. Until a blood disorder took him in 1945.