Track Listing

1. String Quartet No. 15 in G major, D. 887 (Op. posth. 161): Allegro molto moderato
2. String Quartet No. 15 in G major, D. 887 (Op. posth. 161): Andante un poco mosso
3. String Quartet No. 15 in G major, D. 887 (Op. posth. 161): Scherzo. Allegro moderato
4. String Quartet No. 15 in G major, D. 887 (Op. posth. 161): Allegro assai
5. String Trio in B flat major, D. 471: Allegro
6. String Trio in B flat major, D. 471: Andante Sostenuto
7. String Quartet (fragment), D. 2c (D. 998)

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #313834 in Music
• Released on: 1995-08-22
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.com
This ensemble was still the New Leipzig String Quartet when this recording was made because the old Leipzig String Quartet hadn't retired yet. The ensemble was audacious enough to choose Schubert's difficult last String Quartet for Volume 1 of its series, but the attempt is triumphant. This is compelling Schubert playing, immediately expressive and right in your face. The power of the music in this performance is strong enough to keep you riveted through its great length (50 minutes!). The modest, unfinished Trio is done with a completely different approach, suiting its nature very well. The one-minute fragment by the 12-year-old boy composer is a tantalizing encore. Large-hall reverberant sound but very good of its type. --Leslie Gerber

Customer Reviews

One of the Greatest SQs of All Time...
Exemplifying what the mad Schumann termed "heavenly length," Schubert's great G major SQ rivals Beethoven's four late quartets, and Schoenberg's First and Fourth SQs.

Within Schubert's oeuvre, the G major SQ groups with the Rosamunde SQ, Death and the Maiden SQ, and the Double 'Cello Quintet. With performance time of approx. 55mins, the mighty G major is assuredly one of the greatest SQs of all time. The sonic textures alternate between dazzingly thick and clotted chords to shimmering translucent filligree. Incredible!