The Budapest String Quartet played three Beet-hoven quartets to a large and receptive Sanders Theatre audience yesterday afternoon. The Quartet played with thorough understanding and calmness, although always conveying the music's excitement.

The program included works from each of Beethoven's periods, the "early," "middle," and "late," and illustrated many of the most typical features in the composer's development. In performing Opus 18, No. 5, the Quartet seemed particularly conscious of the movement's overall characters. The performers maintained drive throughout the entire first movement, including the quieter parts, and played the Minuet with delicacy and reserve, even in the few places marked forts. The familiar theme and variations brought out the amazing tone and balance of the group in pianissimo passenger such as the fourth variation, and the bouncing fifth variation illustrated the great exuberance that the calm-looking performers could convey. They made the rapid finals as compact as a single unit, despite its many quick changes in color.

The performance of the rarely played Opus 74, turned attention to the structure of the music itself, which represents several typical Beethoven deviations from traditional form. The scherzo proper, although in the usual binary form, has two sections of completely disproportionate length. The performers chose to omit the usual repeat of the longer section because of its length and the movement's repetitive character, thus subjecting the form to a still greater deviation.

Opus 135, Beethoven's last quartet, was given a particularly exciting performance, highlighted by a good-humored rendition of the finale.

The Budapest Quartet plays with poise and assurance. Joseph Roisman, the first violinist, asserts vigorous leadership with amazing economy of motion. Jac Gorodetzky, the new second violinist, is a distinct improvement over his predecessor who always seemed to play his important motives too softly. The Quartet is one of the finest groups in the nation, and their appearance here was one of the season's highlights.