RTe Vanbrugh Quartet - Stanford: String Quartets Nos 1 & 2

Think of Stanford and the genre of the string quartet probably won�t come to mind. But he composed no fewer than eight such works over a twenty-eight year period, inspired by his friendship with the great violinist Joseph Joachim. Stanford had already composed a number of large-scale chamber works before he began his first string quartet in the summer of 1891, when he was thirty-nine; the second string quartet followed immediately during a burst of dazzling creativity. Both quartets are serious, big-boned works that show Stanford�s mastery of the idiom and ability as a contrapuntist, although they generally display textures that are lighter and more transparent than the thicker palette of Brahms (with whom Stanford is sometimes compared). These delightful works also reveal Stanford�s love of song and lyricism. Throughout, the RTe Vanbrugh Quartet plays with a rare sensitivity and a natural eloquence.The Horn Fantasy�a later work, dating from 1922�is dramatic, compelling and flawlessly written for the genre (a rare combination of instruments and quite possibly composed as a tribute to Mozart, whom Stanford greatly admired), and it is superbly played by Stephen Stirling.All works are here recorded for the first time.