Franz Schubert’s string quartets span his entire creative life. The first was composed when he was only 13 years old, and the last (actually the String Quintet) was completed in 1828, the year of his death. Thus, the complete cycle documents his amazing development as an artist. Schubert’s early quartets were written to be played by members of his musical family, and they more or less stay within the bounds of received tradition. String Quartet No. 1 in G minor/B-flat major (D18), composed in 1810/11, is outwardly traditional, but already elements of Schubert’s personality are apparent–most notably in the tremolos of the first movement’s Presto.
Beethoven’s influence clearly can be heard in the 1812 Quartet No. 2 in D major (D 94), sounding as it does like one of that composer’s Op. 18 quartets. It’s mainly in the brief finale that we hear early hints of Schubert’s more mature harmonic and rhythmic style. Just one year later, in his Quartet No. 8 (D 74), Schubert begins to break through his earlier stylistic restraints, and everything we love about Schubert–the unexpected modulations, the songlike melodies, the dynamic shifts–is here! The Verdi Quartet shows a complete commitment to this music, playing with gusto in the powerful tuttis, tenderness in the quiet andantes, and rhythmic snap in the dance movements. As usual, Hänssler Classic provides wide-ranging, resonant, and realistic sound.
