Search - Franz Schubert, Steuart Eaton, Jens Oppermann :: Schubert: Complete String Quartets (Box Set)

Stellar Schubert Quartet collection

R. Lane | Tracy, CA USA | 01/05/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Franz Schubert was not known in his lifetime as a composer of chamber music, let alone much of anything else except Lieder and Marches. All of the String Quartets, for example, were published after his death. And for those alive during his time, what a shame. These String Quartets are an absolute joy from beginning to end, and the last 4 are truly masterpieces that belong in any collection.



Complete traversals of the Schubert String Quartets are not very commonplace, certainly not as well served as Beethoven, Mozart, Bartok, and a handful of other composers with more than a few compositions in this genre. I well recall when the DG Melos set came out. It was a tremendous disappointment. The accoustics were dry, the playing lifeless, and the overall experience not remotely worth the asking price at the time. That set has been somewhat remastered to improve teh accoustic, and issued at a lower price in DGs Collector's Edition series. But most of its flaws remain.



The present set by the Auryn Quartet could not be more of a total antithesis to the DG set. From start to finish the ensemble is full of life and vigor. And that's not to say there are not any "sublime" moments. There most certainly are. The playing is full of feeling as well as momentum and virtuosity. I was never ready for a piece to end. Give me more! Keep going! And the sound is first-class throughout the set. It is very evident these guys are having lots of fun.



The set is nicely packaged on 6 CDs in 2 chubby jewel boxes with a cardboard slip cover. And, a rarity for CPO, the two accompanying booklets (one in each jewel case) actually contain very useful notes about the music, its history, and more. The works are not presented in chronological order; the order was selected by the ensemble, and the booklets have explanations from the performers as to why the chosen order was selected.



The Auryn Quartet is currently recording a traversal of FJ Haydn's massive output for String Quartet on the Tacit label for $20 or more per disk. And every issue is widely applauded upon release as the best in its class. While this Schubert set is not currently marketed in the USA, it is frequently available form Amazon Marketplace resellers for less than $15 per CD.



Needless to say, this is far and awy, IMHO, as good as it gets for a complete set of the Schubert quartets. If you see it and the price is right, I suggest you get it while you can. The CPO label does not "reproduce" their offerings very often. Once teh initial production lot is sold, items in their catalog are often never available again.

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