Quintet In C Major = Quintet In C-Dur = Quintette En Ut

This 1976 CBS release features Franz Schubert’s String Quintet in C Major, D. 956, widely regarded as the composer's final chamber music masterpiece. Completed in 1828, just months before his death, the work is noted for its ambitious structure and the unusual addition of a second cello, a choice that grants the piece its profound depth and symphonic texture. The recording captures a significant collaboration between the renowned Juilliard String Quartet and cellist Bernard Greenhouse, who joined the ensemble to complete the required quintet instrumentation.

The Juilliard String Quartet was instrumental in the mid-twentieth century for bringing a rigorous, intellectual approach to the classical canon. Their interpretation for CBS sought to highlight the dramatic contrasts within Schubert's score, emphasizing the transition from the lyrical, melancholic themes of the Adagio to the vigorous vitality of the final movement. Upon its release, this recording was received as a definitive account of the work, praised by critics for the seamless integration of Greenhouse’s nuanced cello lines with the quartet’s signature precision and structural clarity.