Saturday, November 27th, 2010
I have just posted this CD on Klassic Haus Restorations. Derived from two Westminster mono LPs, these are classic performances of sensitivity and command of the early Romantic idiom, and especially of Schubert’s unique “voice”. The following are notes posted with the disc on my website. Cheers – Curt
In 1823, Schubert suffered a serious illness which hospitalized him for a time, and which continued to plague him for the remaining six years of his tragically short life. This illness also influenced his general attitude toward life, and was in such a state of mind when he began work on his d minor String Quartet; it was not completed until two years later. The Quintet was a written on commission from Sylvester Paumgartner, music lover and amateur ‘cellist, who was specific regarding the commission itself; the piece must include the tune “Die Forelle”, written by Schubert two years before, as the basis for a variations movement, and the instrumentation must follow the model of a recently published quintet by Hummel. Both of these works receive committed performances, derived from two LPs, the Quartet as Vol. 7 in the complete Schubert Chamber Music on a blue label XWN-series Westminster disc, and the Quintet on an earlier red label WL-series Westminster disc. All were well-recorded in wide-range mono and restorations resulted in a very enjoyable transfer