“Schubert’s String Quartets D. 887 and 112”, Takács Quartet

The releases of the Takács Quartet are usually commented on in these columns, because we consider the latter as a beacon on the international scene. Regarding the 15^e Quartet, D. 887Schubert’s last, the material is more arid. Harmonically, it is a more complex and innovative Schubert, and his 1^er 20-minute movement, in particular, will seem intimidating to listeners who do not have a certain background in chamber music. What is fascinating to explore here—and what the Takács enjoy digging into—is the almost infinite range of dynamics. The 1st third shutter gives the most immediate access to this. Once the universe is penetrated, listening to this 45-minute monument fascinates. Compared to the more lapidary versions of the Hagen Quartet (1998) and the Tetzlaff Quartet (2017, the latter with more research on vibrato-non-vibrato), the Takács impose a more autumnal, more embodied vision, traversed by more doubts and tremors. The microphones keep a nice distance, preserving this subtle and very embodied aspect.

To see in video