Kreutzer Quartet - Variations - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

Isabelle van Keulen - Violin Sonata Around 1900 [COMPACT DISCS] date 09/08/2009

Part of Metier's ongoing series of recordings of the music of Michael Finnissy, one of Britain's most accomplished and acclaimed contemporary composers. InchThis is rather special. If variety is the spice of life, then this disc is hot. And so are the Kreutzer Quartet, whose commitment and spirit make this demanding music sound clear, fluent and gritty. A must for anyone interested in new music, or in the evolution of the string quartet as a genre.Inch - Fabrice Fitch (Gramophone)

While the string quartet is most usually associated with the Germanic traditions, many fine quartets have emanated from a variety of sources in more recent times, and the Catalan area is such. The four quartets recorded here are important because they offer a picture of quartet writing outside the main European canon; the four composers are of the generation after the great Roberto Gerhard, who left Spain for Britain in 1939 but whose roots in Catalan music created the cornerstone for this new school of expression.