The Schubert Connection
– Grieg’s String Quartet meets Schubert’s “Death and the Maiden”

The String Quartet in G minor by Edvard Grieg is quite unlike other string quartets. Indeed, its originality is so marked that it is easy to imagine it has no predecessor in the string quartet repertoire. However, since no quartet is written in isolation from what has gone before, it must be assumed that some work, or works, in the string quartet tradition served as a model for Grieg. It is strange that no effort has been made by musicologists or others to enquire into this. Until now, that is. By placing side by side two works that at first sight seem fairly different, this recording aims to bring into the open, for the first time, the fascinating details that link them.

Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
String Quartet No. 14 in D minor, D. 810

Edvard Grieg (1843-1907)
String Quartet in G Minor, Op. 27

Oslo String Quartet is widely recognized as one of the most versatile string quartets of our day. Since it was founded in 1991 it has established a reputation as an ensemble that unites high artistic standards with a degree of playfulness and an absolute integrity. The quartet’s concerts and recordings have consistently received acclaim, both by the public and by critics. The Oslo String Quartet plays on instruments loaned by Dextra Musica and the ensemble is supported by Arts Council Norway. The current members of the quartet are Geir Inge Lotsberg and Liv Hilde Klokk (violins), Are Sandbakken (viola) and Øystein Sonstad (cello).