Schubert: The Last Quartets (2021)

The Aviv Quartet has released several albums of Schubert's chamber music, intelligently treating each work as an individual rather than imposing an overarching style. There is no shortage of recordings of the two works here, Schubert's last two string quartets, but readers are urged to make room on their shelves or hard drives for this one, which is quite distinctive. The notes tie the serious mood of these quartets to the fact that when he wrote them, Schubert had recently learned that he had syphilis, a likely death ... Read More

The Aviv Quartet has released several albums of Schubert's chamber music, intelligently treating each work as an individual rather than imposing an overarching style. There is no shortage of recordings of the two works here, Schubert's last two string quartets, but readers are urged to make room on their shelves or hard drives for this one, which is quite distinctive. The notes tie the serious mood of these quartets to the fact that when he wrote them, Schubert had recently learned that he had syphilis, a likely death sentence in those days. This is plausible, and the Aviv Quartet imparts a tense, almost panicky feeling to the music. However, one could also say that the players are simply looking at Schubert in a new way, seeing his music as anticipatory of Schumann and even composers beyond, rather than exemplifying Classical balance. The set of variations on the song that gives the String Quartet No. 14 in D minor, D. 810 ("Death and the Maiden"), its name is unusually dark and grim, and the... Read Less