Emil Gilels & Amadeus Quartet - Schubert: The Trout Quintet & Death and the Maiden (2015) [Hi-Res]

In the last few years before he died of syphilis at the age of 31, Franz Schubert experienced one of the most prolific periods of creative genius humankind has ever seen. This quartet is one of the fruits of that period. In the first movement, Schubert develops a simple descending-scale motif into an intense outpouring of grief. The quartet takes its name from the theme of the second movement, a song which Schubert wrote when he was twenty. In its quartet incarnation, Schubert takes the simple melody through a whole range of moods, building to an impassioned frenzy and then relaxing.

„An early stereo recording that, in terms of instrumental placing, has an almost monaural sound image, features the Amadeus's Quartet in a highly dramatic 1959 account of Schubert's Death and the Maiden Quartet. DG's latest transfer is excellent and comes coupled with a stylish Trout Quintet where members of the Amadeus are joined by Emil Gilels and double-bassist Rainer Zepperitz.“ (Robert Cowan, Gramophone)

„In the 1975 DG recording of the Trout there is a masterly contribution from Gilels, and the Amadeus play with considerable freshness. The approach is very positive, not as sunny and spring-like as in some versions, but rewarding in its seriousness of purpose... The unanimity of ensemble [in Death and the Maiden] is remarkable. The quartet play as one in dealing with the finer points of phrasing, for example at the very beginning of the variations.“ (Penguin Guide)

Emil Gilels, piano
Rainer Zepperitz, double bass
Amadeus Quartet

Digitally remastered