Praga Camerata: Franz Schubert – String Quartet D810 Death and the Maiden, Sonata D821 Arpeggione (SACD)

Composer: Franz Peter Schubert
Performer: Michal Kaňka, Praga Camerata
Conductor: Pavel Hůla
Format: DSD64 (iso)
Label: Praga Digitals
Release: 2008
Size: 3.76 GB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes

String Quartet D.810 Death and the Maiden
01. I. Allegro
02. II. Andante con moto
03. III. Scherzo-Allegro moderato
04. IV. Presto

Sonata D.821 Arpeggione
05. I. Allegro moderato
06. II. Adagio
07. III. Allegretto

Two arrangements: one, undertaken by Gustav Mahler and revealed in 1984, of the most famous of Schubert’s 15 quartets, ‘Death and the Maiden’, of which he completed only the second movement Andante, which he in fact conducted in concert. Nowadays, such an expansion charms like the transfer of Schönberg’s Verklärte Nacht or Berg’s Lyric Suite to orchestra; the other, attempted many times, finally achieves a soloist-orchestra balance that preserves the Arpeggione‘s divertissement nature. Gaspar Cassadó proposed a version for large symphony orchestra that is somewhat overwhelming in relation to the simplicity of the original text. The present version for cello and strings, of which this is the first recording, offers a viewpoint both concertante and da camera that shows the purity, fraternal élan and timeless character of the cello’s melody to best advantage.