Quartet in B flat, Op. 168
1 Allegro ma non troppo. 2 Andante sostenuto. 3 Minuetto. 4 Presto played by The Blech String Quartet:
Harry Blech (violin)
Edward Silverman (violin) Douglas Thomson (viola)
William Pleeth (violoncello)
Schubert wrote four string quartets in the key of B flat, of which the one to be heard this evening, although bearing a very late (posthumous) opus number, was actually composed in 1814, when Schubert was a master at his father's school.
This quartet was not published during the composer's lifetime, and the manuscript was probably among the ' effects ' which were sold after Schubert's death for a few shillings. The music is very typical of Schubert's early instrumental style.