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Schubert String Quintet in C

Pieter Wispelwey, Orpheus Quartet

Franz Schubert

SKU: 6794

Year of release: 1994

String Quintet in C Major, D 956 opus 163 52:03
1. Allegro ma non troppo Franz Schubert 19:28
2. Adagio Franz Schubert 13:44
3. Scherzo (Presto) Franz Schubert 09:33
4. Allegretto Franz Schubert 09:16
Total time: 52:03

About this album

The String Quintet in C Major, together with the String Quartet in G Major (D887), the ‘Great’ Symphony in C Major (D944), and the Piano Sonatas in A Major (D959) and B flat Major (D960), represents the climax of Schubert’s instrumental oeuvre. At the same time, the quintet is one of the most remarkable compositions in the entire repertoire of Romantic chamber music. The C Major String Quintet is one of those musical enigmas whose mystery is only deepened by repeated hearings. What inspired Schubert to compose such remarkably beautiful music, and why did no one notice it until the quintet was published in 1853, 25 years after the composer’s death? Our first impulse is to put a dramatic or tragic interpretation on this sequence of events, all the more because Schubert composed the quintet only a few months before his death….

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Reviews

The Nutcracker

(...) While I would liked a sweeter violin tone, the Orpheus plays with unanimity and depth, and P.W. again shows why he is one of the finest young musicians in Europe.

Diapason D’Or

(...) une merveilleuse communion de sensibilités (...)

In Tune

(...) the result is a dream team of Olympian stature.(...) (...) the sense of warmth anf graciousness is exceptional (...) It is quite simply the premiere quality perfomance available. You can throw out everything else.

Tubantia

(...) Frivool speelplezier en verinnerlijkte intensiteit worden door de vertolkers feilloos aangevoeld. (...)

Tubantia

(...) Het Orpheus Quartet bereikt met cellist Pieter Wispelwey een heerlijk ademende eenheid in het strijkkwintet (...)

Diapason

(...) La perfection individuelle s’y harmonise miraculausement avec une conception magnifiquement unitaire de l’oeuvre. (...)

Hifi Vision

(...) Eine großartige Aufnahme.

CD review

(...) incomparable performance (...) (...) and the marvellously relaxed finale has just the right amount of lift in the Hungarian rhythms.

CD Review

(...) When it comes to the great Schubert Quintet, many are called but few are chosen. Knowing the work of the Orpheus Quartet, I approached this recording with keen anticipation and wasn’t disappointed. (...)

Fono-Forum

(...) Die Akustik ist von anspringender Direktheit, ohne dabei aufdringlich oder unnatürlich zu wirken (...) (...) Ihre Tempi sind in allen vier Sätzen ausgesprochen sportiv. (...)

NRC/Handelsblad

(...) Het ‘Strijkkwartet’ krijgt een bijzonder contrastrijke en energiek-vitale uitvoering met veel onverwachte fraseringen en dramatische accenten.

Interpretazione: Ottima CD Classica

(...) non è facile sfuggire al banale, ma l’Orpheus e Wispelwey ci riescono, raggiungendo dei culmini di tensione emotiva particolarmente felici. (...)

Le Quotidien du Medecin

(...) L’équilibre d’ensemble et la sonorité sont parfaits. Un grand moment.

Technical Specifications

Digital To Analog ConverterSony
Mastering EquimentSony digital Editor 3000
Mastering EngineerBert van der Wolf
Mixing ConsoleRens Heijnis Custom made
MicrophonesBruel & Kjaer, Schoeps
Recording FormatPCM 44.1
Analog To Digital ConverterdCS900
Recording DateJune 1994
Recording LocationDutch Reformed Church Kortenhoef, The Netherlands
EditingBert van der Wolf
Recording EngineerBert van der Wolf
ProducerTed Diehl