Britten Op. 94

Between 2010 and 2014, the British Emperor Quartet released the three discs gathered here, with all of Benjamin Britten’s published music for string quartet – as well as his one work for string quintet, the Phantasy in F minor. Their performances of the three numbered quartets, undisputed masterpieces of 20th-century chamber music, were variously described by the critics as ‘stupendous’ (Classic FM Magazine), ‘a wonderful homage’ (Ensemble), and ‘a complete cosmos of colours and nuances’ (Fono Forum), and the discs received top marks and distinctions in magazines such as Fanfare, Diapason and International Record Review.

On this second disc of the Emperor Quartet’s survey of Britten’s music for string quartet, Alla marcia appears as an interlude between the first and the last of Britten's three published string quartets. The first disc in this series of three was released in 2010, and included a performance of the Second String Quartet described as 'stupendous' in Classic FM Magazine and 'magnificent' in Scherzo, while the reviewer in Fono Forum likened it to 'an entire cosmos of colours and nuances'.

Britten had a great affinity with chamber music from an early age it provided him with the perfect medium for experimenting with and assimilating a wide variety of musical styles and techniques. Featuring his works for string quartet, this set is a fitting tribute to one of the 20th century's most accomplished chamber music composers.

To celebrate their 40th anniversary, the revered Emerson String Quartet chose to work on the electric chaconnes and fantasias of English composers Britten and Purcell. The ensemble delves deep, especially into the former, whose chamber works embody the free lyricism and shimmering dissonance of the greatest moments of modernism.

Due to the profundity of Beethoven's late string quartets and the significance composers and critics have placed on them, few modern string quartets have been regarded as masterpieces on the same level. Bartók's, yes, and Shostakovich's, but almost no other set of twentieth century quartets has been similarly elevated. It is almost axiomatic, then, that Benjamin Britten's three string quartets have not received comparable recognition or reverence, because these bright, transparent works deny most expectations of the genre.

Benjamin Britten (1913-76) was one of the most precocious of all composers who have the term child prodigy attached to them. Britten showed a keen interest in music from a very early age – both as a pianist and composer. He would become a formidable pianist, but as remarkable as his early compositions are (he had composed 6 string quartets by the age of 12!), very few people, including Frank Bridge could predict that he would become the 20th centuries greatest opera composers.