Search - Franz [Vienna] Schubert, Leipziger Streichquartett :: Schubert: Complete String Quartets, Vol. 7

The excellent program notes by Werner Adelhold, a consistent asset to this series, prevent the Leipzig Quartet from perpetrating a minor fraud on listeners. The ensemble plays D. 94 so convincingly that it takes Adelhold to remind us that it's an experimental, and in some ways unsuccessful, product of a pre-adolescent composer. D. 173, written when Schubert was 17, still sounds like its classical models but has far greater originality and interest. Then we come to the shattering D. 703 (one completed movement, played here with its fragmentary second movement) and we're reminded of how powerfully moving Schubert's masterpieces can be. A fascinating musical journey and more excellent performances. --Leslie Gerber