'Schubert's Quartet has been performed, rather slowly in his opinion, but very purely and tenderly,' wrote Moritz von Schwind on the day D804 was premiered by the Schuppanzigh Quartet. The composer may well have reacted similarly on hearing the Belcea's first movement. It's a spacious tempo, certainly, causing some of the more energetic music – the last four bars for instance – to sound slightly ponderous. But purity and tenderness are certainly in evidence.
Internal balance and intonation are exemplary, and in the songful melodic writing that dominates the whole work, Corina Belcea and her colleagues seem to have the knack of shaping each long phrase to perfection, knowing just when to intensify the vibrato or give a note extra emphasis, and when to allow the music to flow effortlessly onwards.
These fine qualities persist throughout. There may be more dramatic accounts of D703, but no other group presents its cantabile music in a more affecting way. The lesser work, D87, gets a charming, persuasive interpretation, but the profound and subtle way these young players engage with the later, greater music is the most impressive thing this group has done so far.