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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
38 of 38 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
These three quartets are the best that Schubert wrote and can compare with anything written by anyone at any time. Also here is the glorious 'Quartettsatz'. The Quartetto Italiano could justly claim to be one the three or four best string quartets in the world in their time, and Phillips always did them proud, so really there is nothing but excellence here. The Italians' approach is measured and very sonorous, everything is bang in tune (this is not something that can be taken for granted, even with the most stellar quartets), and it seems to me that they plumb the depths here. The opening of the G Major Quartet, arguably the greatest of the three (and the least often played), is just mesmeric - that whispery violin figure above the tremolando, so frail, so human, so Schubertian. Their tempi tend to be moderate, indeed slowish in the case of some movements (particularly the 'Quartettsatz), but they always make them seem right. When they repeat the exposition in the G major quartet, it isn't a straight repetition, it is even more fragile and anguished, and it is - well, breath-taking is the word that comes to mind. And so it is with every piece on these two discs. When you think that you can get this quality for this price, life just seems good!!
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
I agree with most of what has already been written here. It is true that the recording of the D minor quartet has some thumps on it but these are not a great nuisance, and I find that the Italians really do plumb the depths of emotion which are contained in these great quartets. I have never heard the A minor quartet played so well, and their interpretation shows beyond any doubt that this work is in no way inferior to the D minor, as some people allege.
The amazing G major quartet receives such an intense performance that it is almost unbearable if you are not in the right mood. It is also a long work in this recording, as all Schubert's repeats are observed.
The performances of the Quartetto Italiano are certainly 'studied' and some people may find they lack spontaneity because of this. Indeed it was a long time before I appreciated their late Beethoven. But persevere and their virtues will become apparent!
The amazing G major quartet receives such an intense performance that it is almost unbearable if you are not in the right mood. It is also a long work in this recording, as all Schubert's repeats are observed.
The performances of the Quartetto Italiano are certainly 'studied' and some people may find they lack spontaneity because of this. Indeed it was a long time before I appreciated their late Beethoven. But persevere and their virtues will become apparent!
14 of 21 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Apart from the sound problems (intermittent thumping) inherent in the master tape of No. 14 "Death and the Maiden", for me there is a problem with the overall approach of this distinguished quartet. Their tempi are slow, yet they use little rubato; their playing is impeccably tuned but, to quote Browning, "a common greyness silvers everything" and sent me scuttling back to performances by quartets such as the Juilliard, who really feel the music and bring it alive in a manner quite foreign to the Italians. The last thing Schubert, that most emotional and mercurial of composers, needs, is a measured approach to his glorious music; it is not meant to be played like Mozart but in a truly Romantic style: febrile, obsessive passages alternating with achingly poignant melodies.
Given that some other reviewers clearly hear only perfection in these performances and that their reviews have attracted many supportive votes, I suggest that you listen before you buy and decide how you like your Schubert, especially, as, if you look carefully, you will find that several other reviewers, like me, sound a note of caution. I don't like their measured, understated manner at all, and will always need more verve, urgency and commitment than these cool accounts provide. (Incidentally, I have exactly the same problem with their Beethoven.)
Given that some other reviewers clearly hear only perfection in these performances and that their reviews have attracted many supportive votes, I suggest that you listen before you buy and decide how you like your Schubert, especially, as, if you look carefully, you will find that several other reviewers, like me, sound a note of caution. I don't like their measured, understated manner at all, and will always need more verve, urgency and commitment than these cool accounts provide. (Incidentally, I have exactly the same problem with their Beethoven.)
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