Benjamin Britten - String Quartet in F; Simple Symphony; etc. (Emperor Quartet)

Information

Composer: Benjamin Britten

1. Simple Symphony, Op. 4: I. Boisterous Bourrée
2. Simple Symphony, Op. 4: II. Playful Pizzicato
3. Simple Symphony, Op. 4: III. Sentimental Saraband
4. Simple Symphony, Op. 4: IV. Frolicsome Finale
5. Rhapsody
6. Quartettino: I. Andante -
7. Quartettino: II. Poco adagio ma con moto
8. Quartettino: III. Allegro molto vivace
9. Phantasy in F minor, for string quintet
10. String Quartet in F: I. Allegro vivace e con brio
11. String Quartet in F: II. Andante
12. String Quartet in F: III. Allegro vivace
13. String Quartet in F: IV. Allegro molto

Emperor Quartet
Martin Burgess, violin I
Clare Hayes, violin II
Fiona Bonds, viola
William Schofield, cello
&
John Metcalfe, viola II (9)

Date: 2014
Label: BIS
http://bis.se/label/bis/britten-string-quartets-vol3

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Review

This release follows on from two earlier Britten discs by the Emperor Quartet on BIS (A/10, 12/13), which together comprise the composer’s complete works for string quartet. With the three mature quartets having already appeared, the final volume turns to youthful works, all composed between 1928 and 1934, though it is no less interesting for that. An obvious attraction is the popular Simple Symphony, making a rare appearance performed by solo strings (though the Britten and Maggini Quartets have recorded it in the past). With the Emperor Quartet’s quick reactions, the piece takes on a new guise in this intimate form, at once spikily alive in the outer movements and confiding of private secrets at the heart of the ‘Sentimental Saraband’.

Each of the other items is worth investigating. The heartfelt Rhapsody, written by the 15-year-old Britten in his school sanatorium, is remarkably skilful in its Ravel-tinted language, much more than a youthful curiosity. The Quartettino comprises three succinct genre pieces, very much in the early Britten idiom. The Phantasy in F minor for string quintet, not related to the one with oboe, is fluent beyond the composer’s years, embracing varied moods and colours (John Metcalfe as second viola). Although the String Quartet in F is more jejune, its youthful exuberance keeps it bubbling along. All these other works have been recorded by the Endellion Quartet, originally for EMI, also included on disc 58 of Decca’s ‘Britten: The Complete Works’. Sometimes the Emperor Quartet’s warmth of expression seems preferable, sometimes the Endellion’s liveliness. Either way, these youthful pieces repay one’s attention.

-- Richard Fairman, Gramophone

More reviews:
http://www.thestrad.com/review/britten-simple-symphony-op-4-rhapsody-quartettino-phantasy-f-minor-string-quartet-f-major/
http://www.audaud.com/britten-simple-symphony-quartettino-rhapsody-for-string-quartet-phantasy-in-f-minor-string-quartet-in-f-major-emperor-quartet-bis/
https://www.amazon.com/Britten-String-Quartets-Vol-3/dp/B00KLPXO5W

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Benjamin Britten (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976) was an English composer, conductor and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British classical music, with a range of works including opera, other vocal music, orchestral and chamber pieces. Over the next 28 years, he wrote 14 more operas, establishing himself as one of the leading 20th-century composers in the genre. Britten's other works range from orchestral to choral, solo vocal, chamber and instrumental as well as film music. Britten was also a celebrated pianist and conductor, performing many of his own works in concert and on record.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Britten

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Formed in London in 1992, the Emperor String Quartet achieved early success in competitions, most notably in 1995 when it became the first British group to win the prestigious Evian International String Quartet Competition. Gives concerts throughout the British Isles and continental Europe, and has toured in North and South America and in West Africa. The Quartet teaches string quartet playing at the City Lit College in London.
http://bis.se/orchestras-ensembles/emperor-string-quartet/

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