Schubert String Quintet in C Major, D. 956

[JDWalley]

I've heard and loved several, but the one that really "sends" me is by The Lindsay Quartet + Douglas Cummings. 0:)  Intonation and ensemble aren't exemplary, but....

Agreed -- it's wonderful. I also liked the mid-'70s Juilliard SQ/Bernard Greenhouse LP, but I don't think that particular recording ever appeared on CD, as the same forces re-recorded it for digital, in a version I've never heard.

[G. String]

I value Schubert's chamber works more than any other composer's. My 10 picks to cover his String Quintet would be:

Cummings/ Lindsay Quartet - my favorite and the most inward one, I find especially the slow movement intensely intimate
Heinrich Schiff/Hagen Quartet
Heinrich Schiff/Alban Berg Quartet - most detailed one to my ears.
Raphael Ensemble
Erben/Belcea Quartet
Ishizaka/Pavel Haas Quartet
Pleeth/Amadeus Quartet
L'Archibudelli
Ma/Stern/Robinson/Laredo/Cho-Liang - a dramatic version.
Rostropovich/Emerson Quartet - I don't relate their approach with Schubert but I sometimes go to this version for the music.

[North Star]

Belcea Quartet - bloodless, swift, do not recommend unless you're into that

This being the only one I have on disc.. 
I should do a comparison of it and Taneyev Quartet & Rostropovich (1963) some time.

[TheGSMoeller]

I value Schubert's chamber works more than any other composer's. My 10 picks to cover his String Quintet would be:

Cummings/ Lindsay Quartet - my favorite and the most inward one, I find especially the slow movement intensely intimate

Absolutely, G, Lindsays' Adagio is the highlight for me, so airy and meditative.

, and how carefree exuberance can surround a heart full of loneliness and loss (third movement).

A movement that had me doing a double take during my first listen, I still get lovingly lost in the Trio's Andante sostenuto, then slapped with the Presto return. Love it!

[DavidW]

It's a great piece to be addicted to.

Yes one of my favorite all time chamber works!!!

[North Star]

Yes one of my favorite all time chamber works!!!

It's definitely a great all time chamber work

[TheGSMoeller]

Which Melos version do you have, Rostropovich or Wofgang Boettcher? I'd be very interested to read comments on their remake, which I've never heard.

I think you should try to hear Hagen, Hollywood, Tatrai and Casals+Tortellier+Schneider etc. A lot depends on how strongly you feel about the first movement repeat.

Sorry for the late reply...

I goofed, I have Melos Q. only on the Trout Quintet, and actually the Brandis Quartet Berlin on String Quintet. Had them both listed incorrectly on my computer, flip-flopped! 

Found the Casals+Tortellier+Schneider on Spotify, giving it a spin now. Thanks, Mandryka.

[Mandryka]

Sorry for the late reply...

I goofed, I have Melos Q. only on the Trout Quintet, and actually the Brandis Quartet Berlin on String Quintet. Had them both listed incorrectly on my computer, flip-flopped! 

Found the Casals+Tortellier+Schneider on Spotify, giving it a spin now. Thanks, Mandryka.

You should try the Melos with Rostropovich if you can - it's calm, expansive and noble. It was that recording which made me see that the first movement repeat could be made to work (and the same in their 15th quartet.)

[Mandryka]

I also liked the mid-'70s Juilliard SQ/Bernard Greenhouse LP, but I don't think that particular recording ever appeared on CD

It never left LP commercially. I can let you have a FLAC transfer of the LP if you want. It is good.

[akiralx]

You should try the Melos with Rostropovich if you can - it's calm, expansive and noble. It was that recording which made me see that the first movement repeat could be made to work (and the same in their 15th quartet.)

Yes, my favourite version, reissued again quite recently by DG with original coverart.

[DavidW]

+2 Melos Quartet have always had a deep understanding of Schubert.  Didn't know that it had been reissued... hmm...

[G. String]

-1 for Rostropovich/Melos Quartet. I'm re-listening to it now and it is very Rostropovich/cello-laden. Rostropovich/Emerson is more balanced in my opinion.

[Brahmsian]

Rostropovich/Emerson is more balanced in my opinion.

This is my go-to version.  OK, it is the only recording I have in my collection, but I enjoy it immensely! 

[amw]

With all the great versions of this piece I've heard lately, and the attendant state of mild obsession that goes with, I am now seriously considering starting a blind comparison.

Part of me thinks this is probably a bad idea because of how many versions of it everyone here seems to own, and also that it might be possible to overdose on D956 somehow. But if anyone would be interested in participating in such a thing, or helping me set it up, let me know.

[Brian]

With all the great versions of this piece I've heard lately, and the attendant state of mild obsession that goes with, I am now seriously considering starting a blind comparison.

Part of me thinks this is probably a bad idea because of how many versions of it everyone here seems to own, and also that it might be possible to overdose on D956 somehow. But if anyone would be interested in participating in such a thing, or helping me set it up, let me know.

My interest can be described as "extreme". Total addict in love with this piece.

[Brahmsian]

My interest can be described as "extreme". Total addict in love with this piece.

Samers! 

[Jo498]

There are so many recordings, with probably one or two new ones appearing every year, that it is hard to keep track and, unless you want to listen to nothing else, to listen to all of them. I have heard about 12 to 15 I guess, but do not know all of them well as I had only about three for many years, before enlarging my collection. I just want to mention a few that are either "different" or have not been mentioned so far.

The recording with Heifetz and friends is bound to be controversial: the fastest I have heard (and without repeat in the first mvmt.), very lean and classicist, not my favorite but different in an interesting way and some of the "long range" structure is conveyed very well by the fast tempi and straightforward playing. Sound is stereo, but not very pleasant sounding

The Tatrai on hungaroton/white label/Capriccio has been mentioned already. This is also quite different from the norm; it is among the slowest in mvmt. 3 and 4, but rather fast in the slow movement (no indulging in a beautiful dream), overall it gives a rather "leaden", sinister impression. The sound is not very pleasant either (very direct, somewhat stringent, maybe due to early digital recording? In any case an interesting alternative for those who have heard many versions of the piece.

Then there's a "dark horse", the BBC music magazine disc with the Vellinger Quartet (never heard of) and Greenhouse. This is often very cheap on Ebay or amazon marketplace and worth checking out. It's a very "classical" interpretation without going to the extremes of Heifetz.
Another one in a similar vein is the Orpheus Q. with Wispelwey which may be the most homogeneous I have heard, if you want the second cellist to do individual stuff this one is not for you.

[yeongil]

This will sound odd to many, but if you look at my CD's of chamber music, besides music for piano four hands (mostly on one piano) and string quartets, I have pretty much nothing.  Schubert's Quintet is an exception.

Which Melos version do you have, Rostropovich or Wofgang Boettcher? I'd be very interested to read comments on their remake, which I've never heard.

This was directed at TheGSMoeller, but at one point I had both recordings, years ago.  I can only remember that I liked the Melos/Rostropovich better than the Melos/Boettcher, so I had sold the latter.  The latter also features the replacement 2nd violinist Ida Bieler (the original 2nd violinist, Gerhard Voss, left ca. 1993).

I've borrowed the Emerson/Rostropovich from the public library years ago, and it was okay, but I still liked the Melos/Rostropovich better, so I never bought the Emerson/Rostropovich.  I've also seen a Youtube video of the Alban Berg Quartet with Heinrich Schiff (?).

The quintet is one of my four absolute favorite works of Schubert.  The other three?
- Wanderer Fantasy
- Grand Duo for Piano 4 Hands, D. 812
- Symphony No. 9 ("Great") (or No. 7 or No. 8, depending on who's counting  )
Coincidentally, all four of these works are in C Major.

[Mandryka]

This will sound odd to many, but if you look at my CD's of chamber music, besides music for piano four hands (mostly on one piano) and string quartets, I have pretty much nothing.  Schubert's Quintet is an exception.
This was directed at TheGSMoeller, but at one point I had both recordings, years ago.  I can only remember that I liked the Melos/Rostropovich better than the Melos/Boettcher, so I had sold the latter.  The latter also features the replacement 2nd violinist Ida Bieler (the original 2nd violinist, Gerhard Voss, left ca. 1993).

I've borrowed the Emerson/Rostropovich from the public library years ago, and it was okay, but I still liked the Melos/Rostropovich better, so I never bought the Emerson/Rostropovich.  I've also seen a Youtube video of the Alban Berg Quartet with Heinrich Schiff (?).

The quintet is one of my four absolute favorite works of Schubert.  The other three?
- Wanderer Fantasy
- Grand Duo for Piano 4 Hands, D. 812
- Symphony No. 9 ("Great") (or No. 7 or No. 8, depending on who's counting  )
Coincidentally, all four of these works are in C Major.

You absolutely must here Maderna's recording. I can upload it for you if you don't know it. The other pieces I've explored less, but I thought Elly Ney's second recording of the Wanderer was exceptional. I think the music is absolutely pivotal - the prototype for all those big romantic sonatas for piano. I should like to know more performances of it.  Edwin Fischer's not bad neither. For the duo I like Eschenbach and Frantz.

[Jo498]

The Grand Duo D 812 is certainly one of the most underrated pieces (although I do not think it reaches the sublimity level of the String quintet or the f minor fantasy). I am not so fond of the Wanderer Fantasy. My favorite instrumental Schubert pieces are the String quintet, the G major quartet D 887 and then maybe the E flat major Trio or the A major piano sonata and the d minor quartet