Search - Franz [Vienna] Schubert, Busch String Quartet, Rudolf Serkin :: Complete Schubert Recordings

All the Schubert chamber works recorded by the Busch Quartet are collected in a 2-disc set that's self-recommending to any Schubertian. Busch's dry-eyed Schubert lacks the sentimentality often heard from Viennese groups. But within that more objective framework, discreet rubato and expressive devices heighten the works' grandeur and tragic dimensions. The Death and the Maiden Quartet ranks among the greatest Schubert performances ever, bursting with intensity. Busch was a major violin soloist, as illustrated by the Fantasia, where, with his son-in-law, Rudolf Serkin, he delivers a vibrant, impulsive reading. In the Trio, the pair are joined by Adolf's brother, Hermann, for a family outing that's a sublime interpretation, with unerring tempos and expressive phrasing. Excellent transfers make the recordings sound a decade or two younger. --Dan Davis