02-24-2014 HERE IS TRHE LATE STRING QUARTET OF SCHUBERT, THE WORK IN G-MAJOR D. 887 ALONG WITH THE MOZART AG\DAGIO AND FUGUE K. 546. BOTH ARE WORKS OF THEIR RESPECTIVE COMPOSER'S LATER YEARS, although these were within two all-too brief lifetimes. Schubert was 31 y/o when he wrote this last great quartet, his 15th . and it leads off this Columbia CD with fellow musicians Gidon kremer and Daniel Phillips violins, Kim Kashlashian, viola and cellist Yo YO Ma. This young group got togather for this recording taped in 1985 in NYC. The work runs for 53:30, or very long for such genre, but mSchubert's other quartets were also often oin the big size. The com poser opens with a dark set of ideas in the first movement, and proceeds to develop them in his usual masterfull manner. Right away, I noticed the very fine sound of this Columbia disk, and the speration of the individual artists is just fine. True chamber music it is, and a chance to hear this lesser known work in all it's glorious beauty and grace. The first movement runs itself for 23:19 and the first one half of the quartet is as long as several late Haydn Symphonies, for comparison. I decided to take the Schubert first actually by accident but the Mozart will follow. This beginning by Schubert is halting in it's tempo, and somewhat tentative in getting established, with a tempo marking of Allegro molto moderato, "fast with much moderation', or "moderately fast." The strings of this ad hoc quartet group have a rich vibrato and deep full sound, and saound not far from being in my very own living room. i set my onkyo 7.1 to surround all channel speakers, which simply gives me more of a side speaker presence and not TRUE surround, since it wasn't recorded as such. Still, with a tad of a volume boost, the realization is very pleasing. I could not locate any bio info on violinist Daniel Phillips, but the other three players are all rather young and, of course, ma NEVER gets old, even though he is currently 59 years old. Kremer is the "old man" at 67 and Kashkashkian is 67-----67??? I don't believe it, based on her smiling youthful face on the happy cover. What a \joy it must be to play this great music with friends you genuinely like to be with. That sure seems the case in their faces, but it is even more evident in their music making. The tempo soon settles into a flowing not too fast pace and all the several ideas get full exposure here by these detailed and precision instrumentalists. I am learning in my later years just how great Schubert was at writing for the string quartet, and he stands for me, with Mozart Haydn and Beethoven as the other giants of this form. But, with Schubert, the extra attraction is his poignancy, especially late in his life, generally believed to be often sad and unhappy, due to premature failing health. How sad, and I often ponder what he might of done if God had granted him a few more years. Oh well, we will never know, but what we DO have are these sublime works all crafted with great care and skill. The 2nd movement is an Andante un poco moto, or moderate with a little motion, again on the slower side but not an Adagio. I must admit, this music does get a bit tedious at times as I kept waiting for a main theme to emerge with that characteristic Schubertian songlike flow to it, but it never really did so. the mood here seems troublesome and unsettled but maybe that is the point, I just don't know. The Schubert Scherzo is the 3rd movement and it is only 7:18 in length. I must say, I was a little disappointed with thisa quartet, as I expected more from the composer, more melody, more invention and better design. Frankly, I got bored listening to this work and skipped through it with only a brief stop in the last 2 movements. Far from my being an authority on Schubert's Chamber music, but it occoured to me that this work's movements never really seem to form up and take off, so to speak. they actually have an impressionistic flavor to them, not at all what I had guessed they would be like. The Scherzo does have a trio from 03:24 to about 05:39, but it is not enough. The finale, I liked more than all the pe\revious music I had heard as it scoots and dashes with a zest and freedom that is refreshing after all the tedium. Perhaps, I'm just not ready of rtthe level of quality in these masterpeices, as that is quite possible. I hope i live long enough to get to appresciate them as I think I should. the shorter work on this CD is the Adagio and Fugue of Mozart K. 546, which I understand was originally intended for string orchestra, according to the composer. The Adagio section, track #1, opens with dark, stately notes played boldly with emphasis on string bowwing and long lines. It is almost Bachian in tone, but still, we can tell it is all Mozart. Beethoven was so impressed with it that he copied it out for a practice piece for his own study. This adagio lasts for a mere 3:05 and serves as a prelude, and the 2nd and final part isd the brief but fullfilling Fugue of 3:58. I liked this little fugue as it is played in a even slightly slower tempo, allowing it's mild grandeur to emerge naturally and clearly. It is pleasently dramatic and easy to follow and , unlike the Schubert, it held my attention quite well, so that I wished for more, but it is a rather short work. I ws, as I have said, disappointed with the main work here, the Schubert quartet, but the audiance certainly heard it differently than I as thier enthusiastic applause at it's conclusion atetsts. Maybe, I'll catch on down the road, so I really should recommend it, bearing in mind what are probably my own private reservarions, nonetheless, I can't really not give it a fair rating, but a 3.5 musch of which is due to the smaller Mozart piece. Happy and more listening to azll, and zGod bless as well, Tony.