# Death and the Maiden Recommendations



## MatthewWeflen (Jan 24, 2019)

I heard a snippet of Schubert's String Quartet No. 14 on "Endeavour" tonight. Does anyone have particular favorite recordings of it?

I would strongly prefer it be available on either Presto Classical or HDTracks in CD quality or better.


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## Brahmsianhorn (Feb 17, 2017)

Lindsay is very good


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## flamencosketches (Jan 4, 2019)

Amadeus, Italiano & Chilingirian are the ones I have. I think the Italiano is my favorite.


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## jegreenwood (Dec 25, 2015)

I lived happily with only ABQ for many years. Now I have Juilliard, which I don't like as much and Quartetto Italiano, which is nice alternative (and the only recording of the G Major I like).


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## BlackAdderLXX (Apr 18, 2020)

I have Pavel Haas Quartet and love it.


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## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

Amadeus Quartet /Pavel Haas Quartet/ Takács Quartet/ Belcea Quartet, in that order


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## flamencosketches (Jan 4, 2019)

BlackAdderLXX said:


> I have Pavel Haas Quartet and love it.


I have this too. Can't really remember it though. I owe it another listen.


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## Manxfeeder (Oct 19, 2010)

Brahmsianhorn said:


> Lindsay is very good


Another vote for Lindsay. They capture the mood swings.


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## wkasimer (Jun 5, 2017)

The first Juilliard, and the Petersen Quartet:


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## MatthewWeflen (Jan 24, 2019)

Thanks everyone, for the recommendations. I am deciding between these two recordings on PResto.

https://www.prestomusic.com/classic...ias-amadeus-quartet-recordings-vol-2-schubert









https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/products/8175972--schubert-death-and-the-maiden









The former obviously has more music for my twelve dollars. But the latter seems to have truly excellent sound.


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## isorhythm (Jan 2, 2015)

Another vote for Italiano.


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## Brahmsianhorn (Feb 17, 2017)

wkasimer said:


> The first Juilliard, and the Petersen Quartet:
> 
> View attachment 136897


Do you know if that is the same Juilliard version now on a Testament CD? Seems as though the RCA version never made it past LP.


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## wkasimer (Jun 5, 2017)

MatthewWeflen said:


> Thanks everyone, for the recommendations. I am deciding between these two recordings on PResto.
> 
> https://www.prestomusic.com/classic...ias-amadeus-quartet-recordings-vol-2-schubert
> 
> ...


I'd stay away from the Kopatchinskaya recording, which looks like one of those misguided efforts to mix music from different eras. The Schubert is actually an arrangement for string orchestra, and the four movements aren't consecutive on the recording.


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## MatthewWeflen (Jan 24, 2019)

wkasimer said:


> I'd stay away from the Kopatchinskaya recording, which looks like one of those misguided efforts to mix music from different eras. The Schubert is actually an arrangement for string orchestra, and the four movements aren't consecutive on the recording.


I would be re-arranging them so that the movements were consecutive (I do all my listening on my DAP). I was going based on listening to the samples on the Presto website. If the Amadeus has good sound, then it is probably the preference, but it is from the 50s.


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## SONNET CLV (May 31, 2014)

Seems like one has here some very sound recommendations.



wkasimer said:


> I'd stay away from the Kopatchinskaya recording, which looks like one of those misguided efforts to mix music from different eras. The Schubert is actually an arrangement for string orchestra, and the four movements aren't consecutive on the recording.


Not necessarily misguided. More like one of my own listening sessions. And (in my opinion) this sort of thing works especially well with _Der Tod Und Das Mädchen_ which has the expressive range (and, to my ears, the familiarity) to experiment a bit.

Which is why (even before I read all of these posts) I intended to recommend the following:









Here the Schubert is coupled with (though not with alternating movements!) the great George Crumb quartet (where the adjective applies to both the composer and the work) _Black Angels_, which quotes from the Schubert work. If you're new to the Schubert, you're likely new to the Crumb work, too. Give it a try, in any case. The two works together reveal the power of the string quartet. Add in the later Beethoven quartets, the six Bartok works and a couple of Shostakovich's quartets, the Debussy and Ravel works, a late Haydn or two … and you have yourself a remarkable document of what two violins, a viola, and a cello can do in the hands of major composers.


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## wkasimer (Jun 5, 2017)

SONNET CLV said:


> Seems like one has here some very sound recommendations.
> 
> Not necessarily misguided.


It certainly is for someone buying their first version of the work.


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## wkasimer (Jun 5, 2017)

MatthewWeflen said:


> I would be re-arranging them so that the movements were consecutive (I do all my listening on my DAP).


Sure, but that still isn't going to turn it back into what Schubert actually wrote - a work for four players, not a string orchestra.

I'm not sure why you're limiting yourself to these two recordings - there have been dozens of recordings of D&M since the 1950's Amadeus, and virtually all of them are better played and better recorded.


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## MatthewWeflen (Jan 24, 2019)

I am trying to restrict myself to downloads (I don't want to ship CDs and I cannot play vinyl), and Presto is offering some really nice deals on Pentatone and Alpha presently. That is what is driving my appraisal of the options.

Edit: I ended up going with this one. 12 bucks for a complete set was too good to pass up, and the playing seemed to pass muster on the samples I listened to. It seems a bit on the HIP side of things.

https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/products/8112508--schubert-complete-string-quartets


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## Ekim the Insubordinate (May 24, 2015)

The Takacs Quartet recording on Hyperion is my favorite. I also have the Amadeus Quartet on DG, and the Auryn Quartet on CPO. All good, but the Takacs Quartet wins out for me.


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## Itullian (Aug 27, 2011)

MatthewWeflen said:


> I am trying to restrict myself to downloads (I don't want to ship CDs and I cannot play vinyl), and Presto is offering some really nice deals on Pentatone and Alpha presently. That is what is driving my appraisal of the options.
> 
> Edit: I ended up going with this one. 12 bucks for a complete set was too good to pass up, and the playing seemed to pass muster on the samples I listened to. It seems a bit on the HIP side of things.
> 
> ...


I have that set. It's excellent.


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## MatthewWeflen (Jan 24, 2019)

Itullian said:


> I have that set. It's excellent.


I am listening to it over my MDR-Z7 headphones. I am feeling pretty good about this purchase. Great, rich sound quality, zero extraneous noise, exciting playing.


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## Zama (Dec 10, 2019)

Takacs Quartet for me too.


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## perdido34 (Mar 11, 2015)

Brahmsianhorn said:


> Do you know if that is the same Juilliard version now on a Testament CD? Seems as though the RCA version never made it past LP.


The Juilliard's RCA version appeared in one of the large Living Stereo CD box sets. It's one of my favorite versions of this piece. I don't know if the Testament CD is the same recording.


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## Enthusiast (Mar 5, 2016)

I've heard many and liked some a lot. But there have been some spectacularly good recordings recently. The Pavel Haas quartet is very good - certainly one of the best - and I also like the recordings by the Chiaroscuro Quartet and the Van Kujik Quartet. And then, going back in history, there is a fine recording by the Busch Quartet - I find the sound quite acceptable.


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## Enthusiast (Mar 5, 2016)

wkasimer said:


> I'd stay away from the Kopatchinskaya recording, which looks like one of those misguided efforts to mix music from different eras. The Schubert is actually an arrangement for string orchestra, and the four movements aren't consecutive on the recording.


I don't know that I agree that records that mix music from different eras in interesting ways are necessarily misguided but then I tend to think of CDs as being like concerts. Also, the Schubert can be programmed to play right through as one work. But you are right to warn against considering the Kopatchinskaya as a contender for the quartet because it is, as you note, an arrangement for string orchestra. I feel it works quite well in much the same way that Tchaikovsky's Souvenir de Florence works well as a string orchestra piece. But it is not the quartet.


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## Mandryka (Feb 22, 2013)

MatthewWeflen said:


> I heard a snippet of Schubert's String Quartet No. 14 on "Endeavour" tonight. Does anyone have particular favorite recordings of it?
> 
> I would strongly prefer it be available on either Presto Classical or HDTracks in CD quality or better.


The best _Death and the Maiden_ is in Samuel Backett's All That Fall -- that's quite enough for me (not a fan of Schubert's quartets!)


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## jegreenwood (Dec 25, 2015)

Mandryka said:


> The best _Death and the Maiden_ is in Samuel Backett's All That Fall -- that's quite enough for me (not a fan of Schubert's quartets!)


To be paired with Beckett's "Ghost Trio."


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## wkasimer (Jun 5, 2017)

perdido34 said:


> The Juilliard's RCA version appeared in one of the large Living Stereo CD box sets. It's one of my favorite versions of this piece. I don't know if the Testament CD is the same recording.


I believe that the one on Testament is the same recording. It's also included in the Juilliard Complete RCA Recording set.


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## regnaDkciN (May 24, 2011)

wkasimer said:


> I believe that the one on Testament is the same recording. It's also included in the Juilliard Complete RCA Recording set.


It's also available as a download at Presto, in either standard Redbook (CD) or high-res formats.


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## Merl (Jul 28, 2016)

Has no one mentioned the Pavel Haas recording? To me it's absolutely superb.


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## Simplicissimus (Feb 3, 2020)

I’ve liked the Julliard SQ version on RCA Living Stereo for a long time, but recently I’ve gotten into the Mahler orchestration versions. If this appeals to anyone, I can recommend the 1994 recording by Michael Gielen/SWR Sinfonieorchester on SWR Music. It’s the Mahler transcription for string orchestra arranged by Gielen. Interesting, beautiful, and tasteful, IMO.


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