Presented by Leo Samama.
Rebecca Clarke (1886-1979) – Two movements for string quartet (1924, 1926)
- Comodo et amabile, 2. Poem
Performers: Julstrom String Quartet
CD: Centaur Records
Imogen Holst (1907-1984) – Phantasy Quartet (1928)
Performers: David Worswick, Oliver Coates, Simon Hewitt Jones, Tom Hankey
CD: NMC Recordings
Benjamin Britten (1913-1976) – Quartettino (1930)
- Andante, 2. Poco adagio ma con moto, 3. Allegro molto vivace
Performers: Maggini Quartet
CD: Naxos
Benjamin Britten (1913-1976) – Three Divertimenti (1936)
- March, 2. Waltz, 3. Burlesque
Performers: Brodsky Quartet
CD: Challenge Records
Until the 1930s, there were two opposing currents in British music. On one hand, there were the traditionalists (not always in age, but in terms of their musical taste) who preferred the pastoral tone and the phantasies, which can be found in the music of Rebecca Clarke and Imogen Holst. On the other hand, there were composers who, despite the isolationism of the British Isles, were drawn to the music of late Gustav Mahler, young Schoenberg and very young Alban Berg, as well as that of Bartok and Hindemith. Benjamin Britten belonged to this second group.
The two separate movements for string quartet by Clarke were discovered in the archives after her death and have since been performed as Two Movements for String Quartet. This program also includes them. Holst’s Phantasy Quartet is a youthful work, as is Britten’s Quartettino. However, it sounds idiosyncratic, capricious, and modern. Britten’s Three Divertimenti were reportedly received with laughter and an icy silence at their premiere, according to the composer.
