The Scharoun Ensemble’s recording of Schubert’s Octet has earned a five-star review from France’s Diapason magazine, with critics praising the ensemble’s fluid, luminous take on a work often measured against classic references like the Vienna Octet.
Comprising members of the Berlin Philharmonic, the Scharoun Ensemble returns to the Octet more than two decades after an earlier recording, and Diapason notes a marked evolution: where that 2002 version carried almost symphonic weight, this one reveals a more fluid tone, with an admirable blend of strings sustained throughout.
The review singles out the Adagio, which the ensemble is said to shape like a joyful bucolic stroll, with phrasing that carries the melody to great heights. Diapason also highlights the finale, where the ensemble is praised for rendering all the nuances of a score poised between shadow and light, holding the balance on a knife’s edge until the closing swirl in F major.
While acknowledging other benchmark recordings, Diapason affirms the Scharoun Ensemble’s distinctive sensitivity to Schubert’s interplay of light and shadow.
Schubert: Octet is out now on PENTATONE.
