Schubert: Aus Der Ferne, String Quartets Nos.8 & 13 – Signum Quartett

   in Classical Music (Apr, 2018)
This well-filled disc is based on a fabulous idea: a demonstration via Xandi van Dijk’s arrangements (he’s the quartet’s violist) of the cross-pollination between Schubert’s lieder and his chamber music. The first two song arrangements are deliciously done, but D112’s Andante sostenuto is positively revelatory, as are the Haydnesque leanings of that quartet’s Menuetto and its sweetest of Trios, full of Rückblick.

Three more songs are inserted between the quartets, including a superbly sensitive performance of Die Götter Griechenlands. Following this is a simply superb performance of D804, a quartet that includes famous material from Rosamunde. Drama meets the sweetest of Innigeit, and there is some beautifully sweet-toned violin playing …