Cuarteto Casals, Harmonia Mundi HMC 902121 ***
Schubert’s compositions became more expansive towards the end of his short life, and it was Schumann who famously praised the “heavenly length” of the composer’s final symphony. His final string quartet, in G, D887, is also long, stretching to 47 minutes in this new performance by Barcelona’s Cuarteto Casals. The premonitions of epic scale are felt early on, and the players wrestle with detail as if to ensure that there will never be a dull moment. On one level the playing is absolutely fabulous, showcasing a range of possibilities that is anything but obvious. On the other hand, it can also sound like excessive micromanagement, as if the musicians are unwilling ever to let the music speak for itself, and the sense of continuity can become fractured. The often very gentle flow of the early Quartet in E flat, D87, is fully persuasive.
