Britten: The Music for String Quartet

Britten’s three string quartets give a glimpse of a composer at three very different points in his life. The Second (1945) is surely his masterpiece among them, a three-movement work of prodigious imagination and almost feverish intensity, while the Third (1975), written by an ill man nearing the end of his life, is a subtle and poignant fusion of the world-weary and the upbeat, magically painted. They’re joined by a host of smaller pieces, as well as the string-quartet version of the Simple Symphony, brilliantly done here, to shine a particular light on this great composer. Expect a superbly played and beautifully recorded album.