Elias String Quartet: Beethoven's Op 130

I bought a new recording of Beethoven's Op 130 string quartet in B flat major mainly because the recording re-instates the Grosse Fuge as the quartet's finale, rather than the routine finale Beethoven was persuaded to substitute by publisher and players. After the profound opening adagio-allegro, Beethoven follows with three intermediate movements, then the sublime cavatina (adagio molto espressivo) and then: we need the Grosse Fuge!

I had never heard of the Elias String Quartet prior to buying this CD. The performance of Op 130 strikes me as exemplary, and I'll return to it often. Is the danza tedesca taken too quickly? But it's marked allegro assai, so maybe not, even though no one could dance at the speed taken here. Anyway, for me a good performance of Op 130 integrating the unjustly abandoned Grosse Fuge is highly welcome. The recording (Wigmore Hall Live) is excellent and well balanced.