[Elaryad]

I very much like the Takacs. Wonderful performance on the Verbier Festival this year.

 

[SnakeGnim12333]

is this a piece?

 

[Rogerx]

is this a piece?

Fair question after 12 years

 

[RogerWaters]

Death to the Maiden,

Death of the Maiden,

Death for the Maiden,

ah....yes! Death And The Maiden! I finally got it right! I've requested to hear this wonderful work or talked about this work using the above, because sometimes I'm bad at remembering names of people and things

One thing I do know is this Schubert masterpiece is one of the most powerful and remarkable works of the entire chamber music repertoire!

I own a recording of the Death and The Maiden quartet performed by Melos Quartet. And, I've just listened to the 1st and 2nd mvt performed by the Lindsay Quartet.

My question is: Which string quartet ensemble performed the definitive Death And the Maiden? I'd like to hear your thoughts.

That 2nd mvt. Andante con moto is just so impossibly amazing!

This is indeed an amazing achievement in classical music. Along with the String Quintet, Fantasy for Violin (both aforementioned), Piano Trios (esp no. 2), Impromptus and the amazing Fantasia for Piano duet. The pinnacle of Mount Schubert may not be as broad as other peaks... but it is high!

Renditions of SQ 14 that burn bright and achieve the great firey furnace:

1. Quartet Italiano
2. Alban Berg

Versions that are like showering in luke warm water:

1. Takacs
2. Emerson

 

[PeterF]

I too am a big fan of Schubert’s Death and the Maiden, D.810.

The versions I very much enjoy are by these string quartets:
Amadeus
Belcea
Mandelring

 

[Quartetfore]

Death to the Maiden,

Death of the Maiden,

Death for the Maiden,

ah....yes! Death And The Maiden! I finally got it right! I've requested to hear this wonderful work or talked about this work using the above, because sometimes I'm bad at remembering names of people and things

One thing I do know is this Schubert masterpiece is one of the most powerful and remarkable works of the entire chamber music repertoire!

I own a recording of the Death and The Maiden quartet performed by Melos Quartet. And, I've just listened to the 1st and 2nd mvt performed by the Lindsay Quartet.

My question is: Which string quartet ensemble performed the definitive Death And the Maiden? I'd like to hear your thoughts.

That 2nd mvt. Andante con moto is just so impossibly amazing!

definitive version? no such thing. I have several recordings of the work, but right now like the takacs recording.(until the next great version comes around).

 

[Enthusiast]

Recent ones that are really very good include the Pavel Haas Quartet and the Quatuor Van Kuijk. Check them out.

 

[UniversalTuringMachine]

Recent ones that are really very good include the Pavel Haas Quartet and the Quatuor Van Kuijk. Check them out.

Second that. Both recordings are amazing and very moving.

 

[Kjetil Heggelund]

This is indeed an amazing achievement in classical music. Along with the String Quintet, Fantasy for Violin (both aforementioned), Piano Trios (esp no. 2), Impromptus and the amazing Fantasia for Piano duet. The pinnacle of Mount Schubert may not be as broad as other peaks... but it is high!

Renditions of SQ 14 that burn bright and achieve the great firey furnace:

1. Quartet Italiano
2. Alban Berg

Versions that are like showering in luke warm water:

1. Takacs
2. Emerson

Why on earth like showering in luke warm water? Please explain! Those guys are some of my favorites! Anyway you can try the Cleveland Quartet

 

[Josquin13]

My favorite recordings of Schubert's Death and the Maiden String Quartet are by the Orlando Quartet on Philips, and the Alban Berg Quartet on EMI. Quarteto Italiano is excellent, too, & as expected, play the Andante con moto with an unusual depth and insight:

--Orlando Quartet:

--Alban Berg Quartet, on EMI (although I wish the CD remasters had the warmth of the original LP, since the CD technology can make the performance sound a bit harsh at times; which has nothing to do with the players, as the ABQ made a beautiful sound in concert):

(& the ABQ live:

)

By the way, both Esoteric and Pentatone have recently remastered the Quarteto Italiano's Schubert SQs nos. 13 & 14 on Hybrid SACD, though the Esoteric recording is quite expensive (at $49). If you're interested in the Esoteric QI Schubert recording, it's probably best to buy it soon, as these recordings don't stay in print for long, and once OOP, the price usually skyrockets (into the $100s): https://store.acousticsounds.com/d/...MI0u7BpaO16gIV5rGzCh2kvgMYEAEYASAAEgISX_D_BwE. However, the Pentatone remasters are probably just as good, and the recording is much less expensive: https://www.amazon.com/Franz-Schube...aliano+pentatone&qid=1593924100&s=music&sr=1-. Frustratingly, neither recording comes with Quarteto Italiano's excellent recording of Schubert's most profound String Quartet, No. 15, D. 887 (which in Esoteric's case is kind of a rip off, considering the high price).

--Quarteto Italiano, on Philips:

Among other excellent choices for this work, I'll also occasionally listen to the Chilingirian Quartet on Nimbus:

, and Hagen Quartet on DG:

--Hagen Quartet:

On period instruments, both Chiaroscuro and Terpsycordes are worth hearing for their wilder HIP interpretations:

--Chiaroscuro:

--Terpsychordes:

Historically, the Busch Quartet are well worthing hearing, too, from 1936:

(I'd also like to hear the Takacs Quartet, since I'm a big fan of their Haydn Op. 76 set on Decca, but haven't yet.)

 

[Merl]

I think I covered 4 that I really rate in this thread, below.

What are your favorite "Death and the Maiden" string quartet recordings?

 

[RogerWaters]

Why on earth like showering in luke warm water? Please explain! Those guys are some of my favorites! Anyway you can try the Cleveland Quartet

They both play the piece too fast for me

 

[Merl]

I'll add the British Dorics to my list. I'm gradually falling in love with their SQ performances. Their Haydn is excellent, their Britten terrific, their Mendelssohn divine, their Korngold the best available.... This one is just as good.

 

[flamencosketches]

I must confess that I don't hear this as one of the "great" chamber works of all time—certainly not in the league of Beethoven's late quartets or Schubert's own String Quintet in C. Is it a matter of not having heard the right recording? Maybe, but I doubt it—I have some good ones: Italiano, Chilingirian, Pavel Haas, & Amadeus. But I'll gladly continue giving it a try every once in a while to see if my opinion changes.

Disclaimer: Schubert is one of my very favorite composers. But my great esteem for him does not rest on the strength of this work or any of his string quartets.

 

[Allegro Con Brio]

^Yup. I really don’t like this quartet at all despite absolutely adoring Schubert (who, if not for the existence of Bach and Brahms, would likely be my favorite composer). I find it somewhat contrived and don’t think it belongs in the same realm as towering masterpieces of profundity like Winterreise, Die Schone Mullerin, and the late sonatas. I like the 15th and the string quintet much better, though I don’t think either of those works are as great as the Trout quintet and piano trios.

 

[Simplicissimus]

^Yup. I really don't like this quartet at all despite absolutely adoring Schubert (who, if not for the existence of Bach and Brahms, would likely be my favorite composer). I find it somewhat contrived and don't think it belongs in the same realm as towering masterpieces of profundity like Winterreise, Die Schone Mullerin, and the late sonatas. I like the 15th and the string quintet much better, though I don't think either of those works are as great as the Trout quintet and piano trios.

I feel the same way. I've had the Emerson Quartet's recording in my collection for a long time, but I recently discovered Michael Gielen's orchestration of this work, and I actually enjoy it a lot more than the SQ version.

 

[jegreenwood]

I've always like SQ13 more - at least the first two movements. Also the Quartetsatz.

I didn't "get" No. 15 at first. For a long time my only recording was from the Juilliard SQ, and it just seemed endless. A few years back I picked up the Quartetto Italiano recording and discovered the beauty of the work.

I love the Trout, the octet and the piano trios, but my highest esteem is reserved for the string quintet - maybe my single favorite piece of music.

 

[Enthusiast]

^Yup. I really don't like this quartet at all despite absolutely adoring Schubert (who, if not for the existence of Bach and Brahms, would likely be my favorite composer). I find it somewhat contrived and don't think it belongs in the same realm as towering masterpieces of profundity like Winterreise, Die Schone Mullerin, and the late sonatas. I like the 15th and the string quintet much better, though I don't think either of those works are as great as the Trout quintet and piano trios.

I love it and feel those who find it disappointing may be looking for the wrong things in it. They seem to want something more profound?

 

[Allegro Con Brio]

I love it and feel those who find it disappointing may be looking for the wrong things in it. They seem to want something more profound?

Do you see it as a heartwrenching investigation of the psychology of death or just a fun piece? I've always got the impression that I should be hearing it as the former and come out disappointed because it seems kind of cheesy that way.

 

[Enthusiast]

^ I wouldn't exactly say a fun piece but I don't think Schubert was aiming at a deep investigation of death, either. This is Schubert the extrovert, the entertainer even: I hear him playing to the gallery.