Franz Schubert: String Quintet, D. 956 Acies Quartett

• Franz Schubert (1797 - 1828): Quintet for Two Violins, Viola and Two Violoncellos in C Major, Op. Posth. 163, D 956 (1828):
• 1 Schubert: Quintet for Two Violins, Viola and Two Violoncellos in C Major, Op. Posth. 163, D 956 (1828): Allegro ma non Troppo 20:36
• 2 Schubert: Quintet for Two Violins, Viola and Two Violoncellos in C Major, Op. Posth. 163, D 956 (1828): Adagio 13:46
• 3 Schubert: Quintet for Two Violins, Viola and Two Violoncellos in C Major, Op. Posth. 163, D 956 (1828): Scherzo. Presto - Trio. Andante Sostenuto 09:52
• 4 Schubert: Quintet for Two Violins, Viola and Two Violoncellos in C Major, Op. Posth. 163, D 956 (1828): Allegretto 09:27
• Total Runtime 53:41

Info for Franz Schubert: String Quintet, D. 956

Schubert’s Quintet is a masterpiece of contrasts – melancholy and joy, intimacy and grandeur, life and transience. More than just music, it is an experience that lingers long after the final note. The Acies Quartet and cellist Martin Rummel have explored its depths for years, drawing inspiration from the great traditions passed down by their mentors. This recording is a tribute to that legacy, dedicated with deep respect and gratitude to Günter Pichler and Valentin Erben – two towering figures whose influence continues to shape generations of musicians.

Schubert's only string quintet with two cellos, composed in September 1828, a few months before his death, was his chamber music swan song. All the qualities of his mature instrumental music are combined here in a way that was unique even for him: symphonic form, enraptured beauty of sound and dramatic contrasts. The tragedy of a man whose life's dreams have not been fulfilled lies like a varnish of sorrow over one of the most beautiful works of Romanticism. ‘It is certainly no longer that happy time in which every object seems to surround us with a youthful glory, but that fatal realisation of the miserable reality, which I try to embellish as much as possible through my imagination (thank God).’ These lines to his brother Ferdinand from 1824 show the composer's fractured understanding of the world, which he expressed in his letters and poems. The poles between which they oscillate - the illusion of longed-for happiness and the ‘fatal realisation of the miserable reality’ - also define the quintet. ...

Professor Brian Finlayson gave the members of the Acies Quartet their initial instruction in chamber music. In 2005 and 2006 these four young musicians accepted invitations to New York to attend courses with members of the Juilliard Quartet.

From 2008 to 2012 the ensemble studied at the Instituto Internacional de Música de Cámara de Madrid with Professor Günter Pichler (Alban Berg Quartet). The Acies Quartet has played in its present formation since May 2016.

After giving numerous concerts at home and abroad (at venues including the Slovenian Philharmonic Hall, Cankarjev Dom Ljubljana, Teatro dei Dioscuri Rom, Fundación Juan March Madrid, Mozarteum Salzburg, Meisterkammerkonzerte Innsbruck, Kammermusikfest Lockenhaus, Musikwochen Millstatt, Konzerthaus Klagenfurt, Palau Barcelona, Konzerthaus Bremen, and many more), the Acies Quartet made its debut in the Brucknerhaus Linz with the Brucknerorchester.

Their chamber music partners have included, among others: David Geringas, Dmitri Ashkenazy, Vladimir Mendelssohn, Christopher Hinterhuber and Benjamin Schmid.

Booklet for Franz Schubert: String Quintet, D. 956