Amazon.comThese two beloved masterpieces of the chamber-music literature hardly need an introduction. There are many recordings of them, but certainly this one, captured live in the '70s and newly reissued, is hard to beat. Steeped in the European tradition, the players have a natural affinity for every nuance of mood and character of these works; with spontaneous, deeply felt expressiveness, they draw the listener into the music and their own experience of it. The pianist fits into the quartet like a glove on the hand, and the string sound is incomparable, as homogeneous as if spun out of a single substance. The first violinist's tone is ravishingly beautiful, variable, intense, singing with velvety warmth and soaring with radiant ecstasy, and he tosses off the virtuoso passages with breathtaking ease. The Brahms has somber austerity, turbulent drama, unbridled fire, and serene simplicity; the Schubert is light and airy, all sunny grace, charm, gossamer delicacy, youthful exuberance, and carefree hope. This is a heart-warming, blissful recording. --Edith Eisler