‘Death and the Maiden is a deeply affecting reading with the violin of Edward Dusinberre tenderly conveying the maiden's vulnerability and the mounting panic as she is stalked by the insistent death march of the other three instruments. The musicians capture Schubert's distinctive blend of beauty and angst’ (The Observer)

‘Schubert's two most accessible quartets receive interpretations on this disc which are as near ideal as one is ever likely to hear’ (BBC Music Magazine)

‘Edgy, inspired playing, with enough broody lyricism to set the atmosphere of the A minor's opening in a few notes, and to balance its outwardly more cheerful finale with a disingenous wistfulness that tells us we're hearing the tip of Schubert's emotional iceberg. Death and the Maiden is given a high-octane treatment that exposes Schubert's raw nerve-endings with strong tempi and a near-violent intensity of tone’ (Classic FM Magazine)

‘This is superb quartet-playing, the quality of which becomes even more formidable over several listens … the latest stage of the Takács Quartet's career has got off to a very impressive start’ (Classical Source)

‘The ensemble, even with a new viola player, is impeccable—this is still a quartet that sounds as though it breathes and thinks as one – and some of leader Edward Dusinberre’s playing is intensely beautiful. The recording is superb: up close and personal, so all the detail’s there, yet there’s enough ambient detail to stop it from becoming too invasive. It’s the first recording the Takács has made for its new label Hyperion, and they must be thrilled with it’ (CDReview)

‘Now, with veteran San Francisco Symphony principal violist Geraldine Walther replacing their former violist, their new recording that pairs Schubert's Death and the Maiden and Rosamunde string quartets (Hyperion) retains if not magnifies the same impact. The essential interplay and cooperation between viola and cello that make the slow movement of Death and the Maiden sing with such devastating eloquence are reinforced by the heart-breaking sweetness and forceful cries of first violinist Edward Dusinberre. These are great musicians, with veteran second violinist Karoly Schranz and cellist Andras Fejer equally eloquent. The performance is riveting, as shattering as it is ultimately uplifting. If the Rosamunde quartet represents a gentler excursion into melancholy, it is no less filled with beauty. Here again, the extraordinary oneness between the members of the quartet enriches musicianship as thought through as it is alive to every moment. What keeps the playing fresh is the tension and the constant interplay of pitch, rhythm, and nuance that declare Schubert's emotions as real and relevant today as they were close to two centuries ago’ (Bay Area Reporter, USA)

«Ces deux grands quatuors à cordes de 1824 sont ici réunis ensemble dans une interprétation absolument renversante du Quatuor Takács. D’un jeu pleinement engagé, ils s’adonnent à merveille aux gammes tourbillonnantes et aux rythmes endiablés de la Jeune fille et la mort, ne relâchant qu’occasionnellement la vive tension de la musique de Schubert. L’équilibre des quatre instruments est très bien ajusté, il y a vraiment un son d’ensemble sans qu’aucun des solistes ne soit exagérément privilégié. Il en résulte que l’on entend magnifiquement bien les voix intermédiaires, le second violon et l’alto se révélant notamment avec des guirlandes et des motifs resplendissants, trop souvent étouffés et négligés dans d’autres versions. Un disque événement à savourer sans plus attendre» (ResMusica.com, France)

‘These are warm and insightful performances of two of Schubert's most affecting chamber music works, both written during a period of intense depression. Though they remain some of the bleakest music of his career, these two string quartets still demonstrate Schubert's sublime melodic gift, and with this disc the Takács Quartet makes a valuable addition to the recorded catalog of these important pieces. Recommended’ (CD Hotlist, USA)

‘The sharpness and subtlety of this Death and the Maiden takes it to the top of available versions. With this superb disc the collaboration couldn't have got off to a better start’ (The Times)

‘The quartets … receive performances that do radiant justice to their genius. That of the D minor is prodigious. I have never heard the panic-stricken finale—music whose audacities still take the breath away—played more ferociously. The Takács also find memorably hushed sounds for the twilight world that much of both works inhabits’ (The Sunday Times)

‘This superb CD is [The Takács Quartet's] first for Hyperion: immaculate playing and sublime beauty’ (The Independent)

‘This is intense music-making of very high quality indeed’ (International Record Review)