The young, Zurich-based Valentin Berlinsky Quartet, named for the longtime Borodin Quartet cellist, is one of the best-blended groups out there. Yet the group's tightly focused specificity of expression is only intensified (rather than airbrushed) by the surface polish. The disc is filled out by Beethoven's String Quartet (Op. 59, No. 1) in a performance that stands up to the best. The spatially oriented sound picture certainly rewards headphone listening.