Search - Arnold Schoenberg :: Schoenberg: Chamber Music

Another Outstanding Disc...

Sébastien Melmoth | Hôtel d'Alsace, PARIS | 01/30/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"These realizations by the Leipzeg String Quartet (with added musicians for the sextet) are outstanding in every way.



Schoenberg's 3rd string quartet has always been one of my favorites: this is what the genre is all about! I will say here, that while the Leipzeg SQ here relaxes the music just a little to let it breathe, giving it a little extended playing time--which I usually wholly approve of--I slightly prefer the LaSalle String Quartet's realization on Deutsche Grammophon for its speed and trenchant, cutting sur-reality.



That said, however, this disc is highly, highly recommended."

Beyond compare

Jeff D. Wolf | Abilene, TX | 05/10/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"If you're interested enough in this recording of this music to have read this far, then grab this CD. Now. Immediately. Without delay.



I've loved the original string sextet version of "Verklarte Nacht" for years and have heard and own many fine recordings of it. But hearing the augmented Leipzig Quartet's performance, marvelously captured in MDG's all-natural sound, I was moved, thrilled, transported beyond any previous music-listening experience. Further purple prose is insufficient. The Leipzig's "Verklarte Nacht" alone is worth the price of this disc.



Outstanding individual recordings are, fortunately, not rare. But seldom do exceptional artists match up with exceptional recording companies and sound engineers for an extended project of exceptionally high consitency. Mitsuko Uchida's recording of the Schubert sonatas for Philips and Hyperion's complete Schubert songs with Graham Johnson come to mind as among the few. The Leipzig Quartet's and MDG's series of chamber music of the First and Second Viennese School belongs in that category."