This is not a disc for the faint-hearted. Both works are concerned with death, and Crumb's Black Angels offers a post-holocaust view of such desolation and hopelessness that one is left with a profound sense of disillusionment. However, it is the contrast between Schubert's struggle to come to terms with death and Crumb's almost savage acceptance of its inevitability which makes the present recording particularly interesting.
The Brodsky's performance of Schubert's Death and the Maiden Quartet is broad and expansive. Their slowish tempos and rich tone produce luscious results, and the variation-form slow movement demonstrates fine balance from this well-matched group. The finale is crisp and well placed, but it does not quite match the buoyant agitation of the Alban Berg version.
Crumb's Black Angels, which quotes the Death and the Maiden theme at the beginning of its second part, is a remarkable work in which the four instruments are subjected to electronic manipulation and the players perform vocalizations. The fine clarity of the present recording marvellously emphasizes the menacing detail of the insects and the ''Devil-Music'', and the ethereal purity of the ''God-music''. In comparison with the Kronos's version the Brodsky seem more vividly to capture the work's breadth. However, in the final ''Threnody'', where the insects appearance should mask the echo of the ''Sarabanda'', it is the Kronos who are more faithful to the text.
Through fime playing and imaginative programming the Brodsky successfully demonstrate 'what is familiar in the unknown'. Prospective buyers should take up the challenge.'