Three other great recordings
Pavel Haas Quartet
An arresting and powerful opening statement sets the scene for a thoroughly engrossing 2013 recording which achieves a similar level of urgency to that of the Takács. The Pavel Haas Quartet are particularly insightful in the way they conjure up the ghostly chill in the closing passage of the first movement, and there is a magical poignancy to the first violin’s melodic decoration of the Death and the Maiden theme in the first variation of the second movement. At the opposite end of the dynamic spectrum, there’s much to admire in the strongly punctuated, almost Brucknerian, rhythms of the Scherzo and the visceral power and wildness of the Finale. (Supraphon SU4110-2)
Jerusalem Quartet
A resonant recording helps to bolster the full-blooded nature of this 2008 interpretation. The Jerusalems are more expansive than the Takács and Pavel Haas, giving the music greater space, a good example being their deliberately hesitant response to the febrile opening flourish in the first movement. It’s a more obviously romantic view of the score, bringing calm, tenderness and warmth
to the few lyrical moments, but by no means understating the music’s dark and unsettling character. (Harmonia Mundi HMA1901990)
Chiaroscuro Quartet
This recently released recording is a revelation. Performing on gut strings and employing very sparing use of vibrato, the Chiaroscuros enhance the originality, urgency and desperation of Schubert’s message, nowhere more compellingly than in their no-holds-barred account of the Finale which builds up to a devastating and emotionally exhausting climax. In the few moments of repose, first violinist Alina Ibragimova mesmerises the listener with her subtly inflected and poetic phrasing. (BIS 2268)
And one to avoid…
The German Mandelring Quartett enjoy the benefits of a superbly vivid SACD recording and the playing, particularly in the more lyrical sections of the score, has a great deal of finesse and sophistication. Nevertheless, the performance lacks a real cutting edge in the dramatic explosions of the first movement and the somewhat stolid tempo adopted for the Finale fails to communicate the sense of desperation that lies at the heart of the music.