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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Beautiful Conclusion to This Series, 25 Jun 2005
The Kodály Quartet has been slowly recording all of Schubert's string quartets and with this Volume 6 we come to the end. The CD contains Schubert's last finished quartet, No. 15 in G Major, D. 887, Op. 161, and the disc is filled out by Five German Dances, D. 90. The Kodály Quartet has more or less become the Naxos label's house quartet, having recorded large chunks of the central quartet literature for them. This is good, because not only are they a wonderful quartet, they are non-interventionist without being bland. String quartet playing is hard work and requires much slow, thoughtful study on the part of the players. It is to the Kodály's credit that they have taken a slow and steady course through the Schubert quartets, some of which they surely had never played before; the early apprentice works in particular are almost never played and yet the Kodály played them not only with musicianly respect but with love and admiration. When we get to Schubert's last quartet, though, we have an undisputed masterpiece that every quartet worthy of the name plays. Its opening movement is one of the most marvelous (and harmonically complicated) works he ever composed. It takes fifteen minutes to play and works its magic in subtle ways. For instance, when it comes time for the recapitulation the first theme is changed from minor to major, and the second from major to minor. Had anyone ever thought to do that before? The minor key cello theme that opens the Andante is one of Schubert's patented melodies; it almost tears your heart out with its gentle pathos. In the Scherzo we are in familiar elfin Schubertian territory that evolves into Ländlerisch folk dance rhythms in the Trio, gentle, not turbulent. And this prepares us for the high spirits of the Finale, a rowdy tarantella. The Kodály play this quartet with a maximum of relish, a minimum of gratuitous edge. They make this complex quartet what it is really meant to be, a thoroughly comprehensible compendium of 1826 quartet writing, easy on the ear and rewarding for the analytic mind. This is a beautiful performance worthy to stand beside any of the earlier treasured recordings (Busch, Alban Berg, Quartetto Italiano) this marvelous quartet has been afforded. The disc is rounded out by five German Dances written when Schubert was sixteen. They are notable for their rough good humor. No. 4 lasts a mere 50 seconds but is infectious enough to have this listener up and stomping his feet in an enthusiastic approximation of dancing. The Kodály's approach is, fittingly, more rough and ready in these pieces than in the subtleties of the 15th Quartet, evidence that they are really entering into the spirit of the music itself rather than applying a one-size-fits-all approach. Although with a timing of only 59+ minutes, this CD is heartily recommended for its marvelous musicmaking. Scott Morrison
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~ Franz Schubert
~ Franz Schubert
~ Gyorgy Eder
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