A likely coupling of lovely performances, this disc has much to recommend it. It makes perfect sense to join Mendelssohn's E flat major String Quartet, Op. 44/3, with Schumann's A major String Quartet, Op. 41/3. Both are prime examples of each composer's chamber music style, prime examples of early Romantic German string quartets. The Gewandhaus Quartet of Leipzig turns in ideally shaped and impressively expressive performances of both works. The Mendelssohn bounces and bounds along in the fast movements and the Scherzo is a wonderful example of the composer at his most impetuous, yet the quartet digs deep into the central Adagio non troppo. The Schumann sings and sighs in the slow movements, as in the mysterious Andante espressivo that starts the opening movement, and especially the soulful central Adagio molto, and races and rushes in the fast movements, particularly the exhilarating closing Allegro molto vivace. With the polished ensemble, lush sonorities, and manifest technical excellence, the Gewandhaus Quartet lacks for nothing, and its playing here rivals the finest previously recorded. With richly detailed and warmly evocative sound, this disc deserves to be heard by anyone who enjoys the pieces.
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