Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. String Quartet No. 1 in G minor/B flat major, D. 18: 1. Andante - Presto vivace
2. String Quartet No. 1 in G minor/B flat major, D. 18: 2. Menuetto
3. String Quartet No. 1 in G minor/B flat major, D. 18: 3. Andante
4. String Quartet No. 1 in G minor/B flat major, D. 18: 4. Presto
5. String Quartet No. 2 in C major (fragment), D. 32: 1. Presto
6. String Quartet No. 2 in C major (fragment), D. 32: 2. Andante
7. String Quartet No. 2 in C major (fragment), D. 32: 3. Menuetto. Allegro
8. String Quartet No. 2 in C major (fragment), D. 32: 4. Allegro con spirito
9. String Quartet No. 3 in B flat major, D. 36: 1. Allegro
10. String Quartet No. 3 in B flat major, D. 36: 2. Andante
11. String Quartet No. 3 in B flat major, D. 36: 3. Menuetto. Allegro ma non troppo
12. String Quartet No. 3 in B flat major, D. 36: 4. Allegretto
13. String Quartet in C minor (one movement: Grave & Allegro), D. 103

Disc 2:

1. String Quartet No. 4 in C major, D. 46: 1. Adagio - Allegro con moto
2. String Quartet No. 4 in C major, D. 46: 2. Andante con moto
3. String Quartet No. 4 in C major, D. 46: 3. Menuetto. Allegro
4. String Quartet No. 4 in C major, D. 46: 4. Allegro
5. String Quartet No. 5 in B flat major (fragment), D. 68: 1. Allegro
6. String Quartet No. 5 in B flat major (fragment), D. 68: 2. Allegro
7. String Quartet No. 6 in D major, D. 74: 1. Allegro ma non troppo
8. String Quartet No. 6 in D major, D. 74: 2. Andante
9. String Quartet No. 6 in D major, D. 74: 3. Menuetto. Allegro
10. String Quartet No. 6 in D major, D. 74: 4. Allegro

Disc 3:

1. String Quartet No. 7 in D major, D. 94: 1. Allegro
2. String Quartet No. 7 in D major, D. 94: 2. Andante con moto
3. String Quartet No. 7 in D major, D. 94: 3. Menuetto. Allegro
4. String Quartet No. 7 in D major, D. 94: 4. Presto
5. String Quartet No. 8 in B flat major, D. 112 (Op. posth. 168): 1. Allegro ma non troppo
6. String Quartet No. 8 in B flat major, D. 112 (Op. posth. 168): 2. Andante sostenuto
7. String Quartet No. 8 in B flat major, D. 112 (Op. posth. 168): 3. Menuetto. Allegro
8. String Quartet No. 8 in B flat major, D. 112 (Op. posth. 168): 4. Presto
9. String Quartet No. 9 in G minor, D. 173: 1. Allegro con brio
10. String Quartet No. 9 in G minor, D. 173: 2. Andantino
11. String Quartet No. 9 in G minor, D. 173: 3. Menuetto. Allegro vivace
12. String Quartet No. 9 in G minor, D. 173: 4. Allegro

Disc 4:

1. String Quartet No. 10 in E flat major, D. 87 (Op. 125/1): 1. Allegro moderato
2. String Quartet No. 10 in E flat major, D. 87 (Op. 125/1): 2. Adagio
3. String Quartet No. 10 in E flat major, D. 87 (Op. 125/1): 3. Scherzo. Prestissimo
4. String Quartet No. 10 in E flat major, D. 87 (Op. 125/1): 4. Allegro
5. String Quartet No. 13 in A minor ('Rosamunde'), D. 804 (Op. 29): 1. Allegro ma non troppo
6. String Quartet No. 13 in A minor ('Rosamunde'), D. 804 (Op. 29): 2. Andante
7. String Quartet No. 13 in A minor ('Rosamunde'), D. 804 (Op. 29): 3. Menuetto. Allegretto
8. String Quartet No. 13 in A minor ('Rosamunde'), D. 804 (Op. 29): 4. Allegro moderato

Disc 5:

1. String Quartet No. 11 in E major, D. 353 (Op. posth. 125/2): 1. Allegro con fuoco
2. String Quartet No. 11 in E major, D. 353 (Op. posth. 125/2): 2. Andante
3. String Quartet No. 11 in E major, D. 353 (Op. posth. 125/2): 3. Menuetto. Allegro vivace
4. String Quartet No. 11 in E major, D. 353 (Op. posth. 125/2): 4. Rondo. Allegro vivace
5. String Quartet No. 14 in D minor ('Death and the Maiden'), D. 810: 1. Allegro
6. String Quartet No. 14 in D minor ('Death and the Maiden'), D. 810: 2. Andante con moto
7. String Quartet No. 14 in D minor ('Death and the Maiden'), D. 810: 3. Scherzo. Allegro molto
8. String Quartet No. 14 in D minor ('Death and the Maiden'), D. 810: 4. Presto

Disc 6:

1. String Quartet No. 12 in C minor ('Quartettsatz'), D. 703
2. String Quartet No. 15 in G major, D. 887 (Op. posth. 161): 1. Allegro molto moderato
3. String Quartet No. 15 in G major, D. 887 (Op. posth. 161): 2. Andante un poco moto
4. String Quartet No. 15 in G major, D. 887 (Op. posth. 161): 3. Scherzo. Allegro vivace - Trio. Allegretto
5. String Quartet No. 15 in G major, D. 887 (Op. posth. 161): 4. Allegro assai

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #68081 in Music
• Released on: 1999-11-09
• Number of discs: 6
• Format: Box set
• Dimensions: .45 pounds

Customer Reviews

Great Music for a Good Price
I bought this set in Dec. '01 and it has since become a favorite in my collection. Schubert is a great composer and in my opinion, the quartets are where he really shines.

Sadly, it is hard to find recordings of all but the last four. In total, there are fourteen plus two fragments- one incomplete and one lost. They are all here and at such a good deal!

The first two discs (first five quartets and a fragment) really stand out. These were quartets Schubert composed as a student and they capture well the energy of youth and have a beautifully simple quality that always makes Schubert stand out. The middle discs track his early career with a more mature motif development revealing a taste of the boldness to come from his later quartets. Not as melodic as the first quartets in my opinion, but a treat nonetheless. Then ah! the last three discs. "Rosamunde," "Death and the maiden," Quartettstatz and C 703. Can you possibly go wrong? Don't answer that. You know it doesn't get better!!

Now we come to recording quality. Well, the Melos Quartet recorded these in the mid 70's. They've been digitally touched up and well done. Still, not convincing enough to sound like new. Treble and Mid is alright but the Bass is really lacking and overall, it still lacks the full sound of recordings from the Emerson and Tokyo quartets. Still, with touchup, these recordings sound more like late 80's- Not Bad!

This is a great deal for a great price. For better quality, I also picked up Emerson's recording of the late quartets, but you will be hard pressed to find a recording of the early and middle works...and what works they are!!!

Buy it for the right reasons
I agree with the other review, but there is an alternative to this set, by the Auryn Quartet, and it is also excellent. So, buy this set for the right reasons, whatever those are, such as: the sound quality of this Chamber Ensemble (extremely warm)
or the overall feel of their playing (caring, respectful). Buy the set from the Auryn quartet if you care more about the sound quality of the recording (it is noticeably better) or if you happen to like a younger, slightly more aggressive approach.
Frankly I have both sets, and love both.

This set or the Auryn Quartet set?
I read, in a book on string quartets, the statement: "More than half of the best string quartets had been written when Schubert died in 1828". I agree, but would put the percentage at more like 75 or 80%. The author went on to include all of Schubert's, even those that he wrote as a teenager. I was surprised by this comment, but now, having now heard his complete string quartets, I have to agree. Even his early ones are superb!

To the recordings: I was just a bit disappointed. The sound seems a bit harsh in places, not as warm as sets I have by the Quartetto Italiano (Beethoven), Melos Quartet (Mozart) and Aoelian Q (Haydn). No doubt they are technically very correct, and show real liveliness - the violins just sound a bit scratchy in places.

The only other complete set seems to be the Auryn Quartet recording, highly recommended by the Penguin guide, but twice as expensive. Naxos offers 12 or the 15 quartets on 5 separate CDs. I'd liked to have heard the Auryn recording before I'd made the decision to purchase this one - who knows, I might have made the same decision anyway.