Written over ten days in early summer 1826, the quartet wasn’t published until 1851, twenty-three years after Schubert’s death.
The first movement’s energetic pulse informs the scherzo and (to a lesser degree) the finale, while the Andante flows at a perfectly judged walking pace.
But tempo is only part of the story, as the rhythmic precision gives the music a sense of sizzling immediacy, while the careful exposition of Schubert’s beautiful themes exudes Old World romanticism.
In all, this is a masterful performance, certainly different from the grand statements of other Quartets but attractive and insightful enough to intrigue newcomers to this work as surely as it delights veterans.
Here is the Aviv quartet to play this music for you:
