String Quartets 5

Description

This disc is not part of your basic chamber music Top 100 collection. Both of these string quartets were written when Schubert was 16 years old, although D. 87 was long thought to be a later work until a dated partial manuscript turned up. So these aren't the heartrending, deeply emotional works of Schubert's last years. They are, though, amazingly personal works for such a young composer, each one fully worthy of a place on a concert program. This series by the Leipzig String Quartet has been consistently excellent, and these are the best recordings of either work I've heard. Fine sound, too. --Leslie Gerber