六首弦乐四重奏可说是巴尔托克作曲事业中最伟大的成就之一，也是他一生音乐艺术的结晶。在这六首作品中，巴尔托克成功的以统一但是形成对称的题材，创作出这些旋律丰富、节奏迷人的作品。The six quartets of Bartók have been well represented on record, far better than the six of Schoenberg or the fifteen of Shostakovich. The choice on Compact Disc, however, is an easy one, for the Emerson Quartet not only plays the music better than any other ensemble, but gets all six essays onto two discs. Making roses out of what must seem more like a collection of thistles to most others who attempt to play the set, the Emerson players show the kind of ensemble polish that caused one European critic to complain,"too smooth.... I like my Bartók rougher." But awkwardness and rhythmic uncertainty, which have made many a lesser group sound rough in this music, should not be confused with expressive edge, which the Emersons bring to the music in full measure. Their readings are extraordinarily revealing, high-intensity, not at all for the faint of heart. With the odd-numbered quartets on one disc and the even on the other, each CD is a"microcosmos" of the whole set. The sound quality is excellent throughout.