Schubert: String Quartet No. 12 in C minor (fragment), D703 ‘Quartettsatz'

“The players are individually brilliant, but their interplay is profound, and it is no doubt significant that first violin and cello, melody and bass, are sisters (Sara and Marie Bitlloch). The recording is ideally balanced for a string quartet.” Sunday Times, 10th May 2009 ****

“The soaring performance of Mendelssohn's E minor String Quartet Op 44 No 2 alone justifies the cost of this CD. The impassioned opening, crisp scherzo, song-like andante and urgent agitato finale make it among the composer's most satisfying works, here warmly played.” The Observer, 26th April 2009

“…the players capture beautifully the mix of grace and jokiness in the Mozart Minuet, and in the Mendelssohn they apply just enough rubato to give colour and meaning, without ever interrupting the flow. The final Presto agitato is a tour de force, rightly acclaimed by the audience.” BBC Music Magazine, October 2009 *****

“The Elias Quartet offer many delights and stand comparison with the greats. …in the Quartettsatz they revel in the Viennese charm… and find time to grow the phrases quite beautifully. In the Dissonance… there are plentiful examples of their fine musicianship, particularly in the slow movement, where their individuality comes to the fore. In Mendelssohn's Fourth Quartet... Sara Bitllock's delectable tone leading the way in the extensive first movement and the piece's underlying unease never underplayed. The Mendelssohn encore is a delightful bonus.” Gramophone Magazine, October 2009

“Schubert, though, was only 16 when he wrote his first important quartet, D87. The excellent Belceas give this and the Rosamundeo Quartet spirited treatment, but their thrilling account of the Quartettsatz is the high-point.” BBC Music Magazine, April 2009 ****

“The superlative technical skills of these young Russian-Israelis, and a tendency to squeeze out every drop of expression, can actually obstruct the music they play so brilliantly. Thus, the natural sweetness of the D minor andante’s major-key variation is so overemphasised as almost to negate its purpose. That, however, is the obverse of their great virtues. Death and the Maiden is a haunted work, and the way they seize on the tiniest detail to increase the tension - a pianissimo tremolo, a brief, explosive forte - is often thrilling. They need only relax a little to be genuinely outstanding.” Sunday Times, 25th May 2008 ***

“[The Jerusalem Quartet's] recording of Schubert's Death and the Maiden quartet finds them at their most uncompromising, with an epic, angry interpretation of a work usually considered elegiac and consolatory. From the furiously articulated opening chords, this is first and foremost a howl of rage against encroaching mortality. The integrity of the performance is never in doubt, and the playing is often breathtaking in its commitment and fire, but the unremitting bleakness of it all can be as forbidding as it is impressive. Its companion piece, the C Minor Quartetsatz, is similarly interpreted in the starkest of colours, with the dialogues between the first violin (Andrei Pavlovsky) and cello (Kyril Zlotnikov) sounding not so much like duets as duels. An admirable disc, though one that's also hard to like.” The Guardian, 9th May 2008 ***

“Passion and a feverish energy characterise this young Israeli quartet. First up is Schubert’s magnificent Quartettsatz, and the temperature continues for Death and the Maiden. Yet they’re never undisciplined – the cellist even keeps his head playing Jacqueline du Pré’s cello (loaned by Daniel Barenboim). Other groups get closer to Schubert’s tender side, but for racing blood, go to Jerusalem.” The Times, 9th May 2008 ****

“The youthful Jerusalem Quartet… are to be heard on an outstanding disc… Their mastery of rubato is as refined as that of any contemporary group, and this disc is as near to perfection as one can possibly find.” BBC Music Magazine, June 2008 *****

“... playing of power and brilliance... the Lindsay Quartet will give great pleasure and satisfaction... their highly-charged, intensely committed approach to the music is impressive and their CD is the one to have” Gramophone Magazine