Schubert Death and the Maiden

Franz Schubert: String Quartet No. 14 D Minor, op. post. D 810 ("The Death And The Maiden"); Stringquartet No. 12 C Minor, op. post. D 703 - Juilliard String Quartet

For sheer dramatic intensity there Is hardly another Quartet in the literature to rival "Death And The Maiden." All four movements have moments of almost frightening anguish. The Juilliard players interpret it with biting vigor and searching comprehension. Their performance is exciting. It is broad and moving. The instrumental tone is powerful without coarseness and the ensemble is in sensitive balance throughout. This recording of the composition is true only one that shares a disc with other music. The Quartettsatz is a single movement, all that Schubert wrote for a projected full-length Quartet. It is a mature work, having been composed after the "Trout Quintet", and then perhaps forgotten, like the two movements of the Unfinished Symphony. It is given a vivacious performance.

Stereo Review