Search - Franz [Vienna] Schubert, Sorrel Quartet :: Schubert: Early String Quartets

These string quartets were written over the space of a year and a half. Schubert the protoromantic, who was 16 when he composed the first of them, doesn't appear until the "Quartettsatz," written a few years later. But these are all charming pieces with something to say, even if they often sound more like Haydn than Schubert. The Sorrel Quartet, a British ensemble founded in 1987, plays Schubert very well, with appropriate lyricism and excellent ensemble and balance. They also present quite a generous program, very well recorded. They don't quite capture the personal quality of the Leipzig Quartet's complete Schubert series, but for those wanting a sampling of early Schubert chamber music, this is a fine introduction. --Leslie Gerber