A special early rec of the Schubert String Quintet D.956

This is one of my favorite recordings of the piece, from the Pro Arte Quartet, which was quite famous around the world in the 1920s and 1930s, when they were in residency in the Royal Court of Belgium, and their tours brought them around the world.

The recording is from 1935. The violinists were Alphonse Onnou and Laurent Halleux; violist Germain Prévost and cellist Fernand Auguste Lemaire. They were joined for the recording by cellist Anthony Pini.

filedropper.com/proarted956

There is a wonderful emphasis on spirit in this recording.
ProArteQuartet1928.jpg

This is one of my favorite pieces of music and definitely of the greatest Schubert’s masterworks, so I’ll listen for sure! Thanks for posting!

You’re very welcome! I hope you enjoy it! It is also one of my favorite pieces indeed.

Does anybody happen to have the version with Casals at his festival? I remember hearing it once on an old LP. A professor of mine played it for me when I was an undergrad student, and I remember being mesmerized by the humanity of the recording. It seemed to me that there was an overall feeling that Casals was guiding and inspiring the other players. And there were really truly time-stopping moments in the recording. I would be very grateful if anybody could share it!

It’s on Avax:
avaxhome.ws/music/classical/casals_festival.html

Thanks so much for directing us there! The entire 13-CD set is there for the download. Public domain, I guess? What a treasure.

Uh, Avaxhome is FAR from “legal,” so I wouldn’t be surprised if they are not. Cheers, though :smiley: