Schubert: The String Quartets

The official companion album for classical music festival La Folle Journée 2022, with its focus on Schubert, is a wonderful survey of the composer’s entire output for string quartet. The album presents 15 works that span his life from precocious 14-year-old to mature master, albeit aged only 29. The Modigliani Quartet, formed in 2003 by four friends at the Paris Conservatoire, are wonderfully stylish, with a real feeling for Schubert’s lyricism. But they’re also more than able to embrace the drama of the later works, like Death and the Maiden and String Quartet No. 15 in G Major. Gathered together, these 15 quartets make for a rewarding journey in the company of a musical genius.