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Track Listings
| 1. String Quintet in C major D956 Allegro ma non troppo [19'54] |
| 2. String Quintet in C major D956 Adagio [14'31] |
| 3. String Quintet in C major D956 Scherzo, Presto Trio, Andante sostenuto [10'28] |
| 4. String Quintet in C major D956 Allegretto [9'42] |
| 5. String Quartet in C minor Quartettsatz D703 [9'06] - Takacs Quartet |
Product Description
Product Description
The matchless Takács Quartet return to Schubert. Their first disc on Hyperionhis Death and the Maiden and Rosamunde quartetsreceived unprecedently lavish critical acclaim, acknowledging a new modern benchmark for these works.
Now they turn to perhaps the most hauntingly beautiful of all Schuberts chamber works, the String Quintetcompleted six weeks before the composers death. Schubert included a second cello in the texture, creating a sumptuously warm sound, a cradling intimacy. Here the Takács players are joined by cellist Ralph Kirshbaum. Also recorded here is the Quartettsatz: a fragmentof the highest qualityof a String Quartet in C minor abandoned by the composer.
Now they turn to perhaps the most hauntingly beautiful of all Schuberts chamber works, the String Quintetcompleted six weeks before the composers death. Schubert included a second cello in the texture, creating a sumptuously warm sound, a cradling intimacy. Here the Takács players are joined by cellist Ralph Kirshbaum. Also recorded here is the Quartettsatz: a fragmentof the highest qualityof a String Quartet in C minor abandoned by the composer.
Product Description
Takács Quartet - Ralph Kirshbaum, violoncelle
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 10 people found the following review helpful
By Entartete Musik
TOP 1000 REVIEWER
The Viennese commend eine schöne Leich (a beautiful corpse). Death is big business in Vienna and, in some quarters, , a deluxe send off is still considered de rigueur. It is seemingly in that spirit that the Takács Quartet has approached Schubert's String Quintet - a work completed just before the composer's death in November 1828. Rather than focussing on a chilly cadaver, this new Hyperion Records disc provides luxurious last rites.
Others take a more spectral approach, such as the Belcea Quartet on its 2009 EMI recording (among recent interpreters in this work's vast discography). In marked contrast, the Takács and cellist Ralph Kirshbaum plump for plush muscularity. There's a full-blooded surge to the work's introductory gestures, as well as healthy debate within the first subject. The second more lyrical theme has contrasting sweetness and warmth, though it is never acquiescent, indicative of boundless inspiration rather than the end of a life.
The Adagio is delivered in unaffected terms, akin to the Tokyo Quartet's recent recording. But there's a balance to be struck between that and the Belcea's more febrile reading. On repeated listens the Takács's cantabile playing may prove too pliant, particularly in the all-too-lyrical construal of the final section. Furthermore, I missed a coarseness in the Scherzo, which lacks the feral quality that the Takács brought to its performances of Haydn's quartets. Concluding such a reading, the finale takes Schubert at his word rather than exploring his and his music's slippery 'double nature'. That more equivocal tone only really appears in the accompanying performance of the Quartettsatz.
You cannot fault the Takács Quartet's generous playing, the player's tone and their commitment across these searing works. It all makes for a rhapsodic disc, a beautiful corpse, upholstered in the best possible taste. But I cannot deny missing the haunting skeletal figure presented by other interpreters.
Others take a more spectral approach, such as the Belcea Quartet on its 2009 EMI recording (among recent interpreters in this work's vast discography). In marked contrast, the Takács and cellist Ralph Kirshbaum plump for plush muscularity. There's a full-blooded surge to the work's introductory gestures, as well as healthy debate within the first subject. The second more lyrical theme has contrasting sweetness and warmth, though it is never acquiescent, indicative of boundless inspiration rather than the end of a life.
The Adagio is delivered in unaffected terms, akin to the Tokyo Quartet's recent recording. But there's a balance to be struck between that and the Belcea's more febrile reading. On repeated listens the Takács's cantabile playing may prove too pliant, particularly in the all-too-lyrical construal of the final section. Furthermore, I missed a coarseness in the Scherzo, which lacks the feral quality that the Takács brought to its performances of Haydn's quartets. Concluding such a reading, the finale takes Schubert at his word rather than exploring his and his music's slippery 'double nature'. That more equivocal tone only really appears in the accompanying performance of the Quartettsatz.
You cannot fault the Takács Quartet's generous playing, the player's tone and their commitment across these searing works. It all makes for a rhapsodic disc, a beautiful corpse, upholstered in the best possible taste. But I cannot deny missing the haunting skeletal figure presented by other interpreters.
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful
By colb-aus
Amazon Verified Purchase
Terrific recording
Terrific performance
It's getting to the stage where I see the latest release from this quartet and automatically buy it
They haven't done anything for me to change this Pavlovian response as yet :-)
Terrific performance
It's getting to the stage where I see the latest release from this quartet and automatically buy it
They haven't done anything for me to change this Pavlovian response as yet :-)
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
3.5 out of 5 stars
2 reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
Unfortunately not a 'breathless' performance...
9 Dec 2012
By Tal Sharvit
- Published on Amazon.com
Amazon Verified Purchase
This could be a truly wonderful recording, BUT...someone is breathing heavily right from the start. I don't have a problem with it happening now and then, but when one hears a passionate intake of breath before virtually every single phrase, it gets exasperating and very soon ruins the entire experience. As one might expect, it's not so noticeable in the scherzo, which is glorious, but in the slow, contemplative movements, where one would more than ever desire to hear the music speak for itself, these clutchy air intakes simply never stop. Didn't anyone preview this recording? I won't attempt to judge for certain who's doing it, but it sounds masculine...and I did not notice it on my recordings by this ensemble in the past (before or after the appearance of Miss Walther). It's really too bad; perhaps some will be able to get past this unfortunate intrusion, but not I. I really can't see listening to it again . . .
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good, but still Second in My Mind
16 Nov 2012
By J. R. Trtek
- Published on Amazon.com
Having been impressed with the Tackacs Quartet's recordings of Schumann and Schubert, I decided to go to more of their Schubert with this disc containing the Quintet in C and the Quartettsatz. And on the whole, it's pretty good. Still, the performances failed to supplant my current top choices. For years, I have preferred the rendition on EMI of the Quintet by the Alban Berg Quartet in the company of cellist Heinrich Schiff, and hearing this new recording by the Tackacs folks augmented by Ralph Kirshbaum doesn't really change things. While I like the Takacs version, it has a bit of a rough edge to it, while the Berg recording is wonderfully smooth. I liked that bit of jagged sound in the Tackacs renditions of the Schubert Quartets Nos. 13 and 14, but for me the Quintet is a more ethereal work requiring less sonic muscle and more finesse, which the Berg Quartet supply in abundance. Similarly, while the Tackacs peformance of the Quartettsatz is okay, I still prefer the version by the Melos Quartet, among others. Again, I'm not saying these are bad performances -- if you like that muscular aspect I referred to earlier, these should be perfect for you. Indeed, there are days when they are just fine for me as well. It's just that most of the time I just like other approaches a bit better.
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Go to Amazon.com to see both reviews
3.5 out of 5 stars
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