V 1: STRING QUARTETS

'The triumphant performance by the Manderling String Quartett reassured me that I had not lost my capacity to thrill to music.' - The Strad Magazine Franz Schubert composed fifteen string quartets during his short life: an astonishing diversity in this most exclusive chamber music combination from which only three popular works are usually heard in the concert hall. With Schubert's Quartet in D minor 'Death and the Maiden', the Manderling Quartet have recorded one of the most significant string quartets since Beethoven. It is a dramatically turbulent work, with variations of Schubert's own song as the intimate heart of the work. This major work of the quartet literature is contrasted with the String Quartet in E-flat major, D.87, a work by the 16-year-old Schubert which in no way reveals youthful immaturity, but is thoroughly inspired by the spirit of Haydn and Mozart. Originally Vol.I of the Schubert series with the Manderling Quartett was recorded in surround sound quality. However, the production was released in CD-format at the time. This current reissue of Vol.1 presents the recording in SACD-format for the first time.