Goldner String Quartet - Bridge: Piano Quintet, String Quartet & Idylls

Frank Bridge is one of those composers who has been generally dismissed for his �Englishness� and is probably remembered best today as the teacher of Benjamin Britten. But this disc of chamber music will radically change this appraisal. It particularly reveals Bridge�s strong French influence, the dance-like quality of his writing darkened with a brooding inspiration, and the music�s dramatic and emotional heart. Three important and very different works are collected here: the elegant early Idylls, the ambitious Piano Quintet and the extraordinary String Quartet No 4, Bridge�s last chamber work, written during a period of near-fatal illness, yet displaying a progressive, forward-looking musical language that shows the great range of this undervalued composer.We are delighted to welcome the Goldner Quartet back to Hyperion for their second disc. Their first�also featuring pianist Piers Lane�was universally acclaimed as a truly great chamber recording, and has been nominated for a BBC Music Magazine award.