I remember the Vienna Konzerthaus Quartet with great fondness from its numerous recordings of standard repertoire for the Westminster label during the early LP era. I hadn't realized until recently that they had recorded a complete Schubert cycle, and that it had been reissued on CD. I was therefore delighted to find this release available from the Amazon website. The VKQ are perfectly suited to this repertoire. Their thoughtful, expansive and deeply expressive approach to Schubert is made possible by perfectly chosen tempos (expansive enough in slow movements to let the pathos tell), an intuitive grasp of Viennese late-classical style, and an uncanny responsiveness not only to the music behind the notes, but also to one another. This is how chamber music should sound, but rarely does in an age of high-profile professionalism. Hearing the VKQ is like eavesdropping on a private conversation, indeed a profoundly unsettling one that puts us in touch with our mortal condition in precisely the way that Schubert, that most death-haunted of composers, clearly intended. To be sure, the early quartets, though pleasant, are hardly profound utterances; they contain numerous infelicities of style and structure that betray the young composer's struggles with this most demanding of idioms. Yet even in these immature works, there are plenty of ravishing moments, sudden turns of phrase or unexpected modulations that cause one to catch one's breath. Where the VKQ really come into their own, however, is with the mature masterpieces, from no. 12 onwards. Theirs is the most melancholy rendition I have yet heard of the A-minor, the most harrowing of the "Death and the Maiden," and the most probing of the enigmatic final work in G-major. Over the years I have heard numerous ensembles do these works in concert and on recordings (including the Guarnieri, the Italians, the Hungarians, the Budapest, and the Melos) and these venerable versions by the VKQ outstrip them all in depth and sensitivity, if not always in tidiness of ensemble.The best news of all is that throughout this set the original monaural recordings have been splendidly transferred to the digital medium. I was astonished at the presence, natural balance and realism that the engineers have managed to retrieve from those opaque-sounding Westminster LP's (at least that's what I remember from the few VKQ recordings I acquired in my youth). It sounds for all the world as if the ensemble is playing "right there in front of you."A worthwhile venture in every respect to resurrect these wonderful old recordings--don't miss them if you are a chamber music lover who delights in ensembles that have a distinctive character (in this case, an "old world," echt-Viennese approach to Schubert that, to the best of my knowledge, has long since vanished).NOTE: Since I wrote this review DG/Universal in South Korea have released two "Westminster Legacy" megaboxes, the first of which contains perhaps the bulk of the chamber music recordings for that esteemed, but long defunct, label (Westminster, that is). That set is no bargain (I purchased it from an website overseas at a considerable discount, but it still cost me a small fortune), but it is an essential acquisition for both chamber music lovers and nostalgia mavens (the original Westminster jacket covers are reproduced on the sleeves in which the CD's are housed). More to the point, all of the the Vienna Konzerthaus Quartet's recordings of Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert are included, in generally excellent transfers. For listeners who might only want the VKQ's Schubert, then the Preiser set, reviewed above, will suffice. But my hunch is that if you are sufficiently interested in the VKQ's timeless-and yet very much "of their time"--Schubert recordings to be reading this review,t hen you probably also will find the "Westminster Legacy" megabox irresistible. That box also includes dozens of recordings by the Barylli Quartet (more streamlined, less old-world than the VKQ, but still excellent), including some piano quartet and quintet repertoire with Badura-Skoda (remember him?) and Demus (another name to conjure with in the 1950's). You might want to save for Volume I of the Westminster Legacy, then, and pass by this (otherwise worthy) reissue on Preiser.