THE NEW YORK TIMES, THURSDAY. NOVEMBER 24, 1977 Disks: Schubert Quartets, Rubinstein Piano

SCHUBERT: Complete String Quartets Melos this painstakingly produced seven-disk which RCA says may or may not be Quartet of Stutgart (Wilhelm Melcher set. the 90-year-old pianist’s last, is not one and Gerhard Voss, violins; Hermann The Melos, while never less than Voss, viola; Peter Buck, cello). DG of them. In fact, both the Schumann 2740 1 23 (7 disks). satisfactory, occasionally can take a and Beethoven performances, taped in back seat to other groups in works April, 1976, just following Rubinstein’s such as No. 13 in A minor, where tonal HEN’ OTTO DEUTSCH, the celebrated 1975-76 tour, are improve­ refinement and grace are uppermost. ments over his earlier recordings of Schubert scholar and cata­ Moreover, a number of more powerful the same works. loguer, can do no better readings of “Death and the Maiden” It seems peculiar to speak of a 76- than to say that the com­ exist, among them the one by the Ama­ poser wrote “about 20” string quartets, year-old artist as less “mature” than deus in an earlier complete set, also an artist of 90, but compared with the you see how much chance of being pre­ on DG. 1962 Rubinstein “Fantasiestucke” (still cise the rest of us have. Three quartets But the Melos has a technical solidity in the catalogue, that is what this 1976 are believed lost, and others exist only and youthful good health to its playing version suggests. The newer perform­ as fragments. Nevertheless, the Melos that make a continually absorbing" ex­ ance is more concentrated, more com­ Quartet has gathered together 16 of the perience of the taxing No. 15 in G. posed and more steadily assertive. works, in varying states of completion, This work, like the similarly late and Even the well-known "Warum?,” nor­ and put them into a splendidly infor­ similarly great string quintet in C, can mally wistful and withdrawn, is robust­ mative and appealing album. stretch the physical endurance as well ly projected. Besides the four frequently heard as the interpretative powers of many The occasional edgincss of the 1962 pieces—"Death and the Maiden,” the A a string quartet that handles Beetho­ "Aufsch wring,” the occasionally raw minor or “Rosamunde” Quartet, the stu­ ven’s late works without strain The energy in “Grillen,” have fallen away. pendous posthumous one In G and the Melos receives remarkably lifelike and It is as if Rubinstein’s monumental "Quartettsatz”—the Melos explores six aurally balanced recording that gives a. exuberance retarded the natural aging efforts in the genre that date from definite reverberation but retains an process, and it has taken him ap extra s Schubert’s student days at the Konvikt etched clarity in all four voices. On 20 years to reach the simplicity of ex­ i. in Vienna and such partly formed sound alone, the Melos would tak- pression one associates with great ^>wor.ks as tIle impossibly diffuse No. 7 precedence over the Amadeus, whose artists in their final creative period. ' -■¡i) D,(D. 94). Unsatisfied with available performances date from the earlv and nvddle 1960’s. N0' that there isn’t pl ntv of exuber- scores, the Melos decided to base this nce left. In Beethoven's Op. 31. No. project on the 1890 B & H Complete Donal Henahan •T the concluding Presto con fuoco Edition, which it believes is more au­ leaps from the grooves with thrilling playing without appreciatively aij.-f thentic in many matters of phrasing, SCHUMANN. Fahtasiestiicke (Op. 12). spontaneity. There are absolutely no BEETHOVEN. Sonata No. IS in E flat knowledt ing that one is listening id' dynamics and actual notes than modern (Op. 31. No. 3). Artur Rubinstein, frills here—Rubinstein has even chosen a revered pianist in his 10th decade. versions such as the 1939 Universal oiano. RCA (ARL 1-2397). to. ignore some of the intermittent I': net always ideally fluent, these per-' Edition. ■p ane’’ markings in order to fashion ’ormanccs aré handseme by any stand­ •m uncomplicatedly direct reading. But let the scholars argue. Any Schu­ Many Rubinstein recordings fail to ard; as the latest milestone in a’legend- , bert enthusiast of more than passing Though one could ouibble about, this ary career, they movingly document a ■ capture the magnetism and charm of and that, it. is ultimately pointless to seriousness should hunger to acquire his concert appearances. This recording. miracle of inspired self-preservation. try to assess the intrinsic merit of the Joseph Horowitz