Schubert’s prolific output during the thirty-one years of his life included fifteen string quartets, as well as the hundreds of songs on which his reputation as the father of German lieder is based. This volume spans much of Schubert’s short career. The last quartet, No. 15, written towards the end of Schubert’s life when his health was in decline, is a melancholic outpouring, at times elegiac, at others punctuated by bold, dramatic harmonies. In contrast, the German Dances, written when he was sixteen, retain a joyful simplicity and the flavour of a Schubertiade (a musical gathering of Schubert’s friends).