MAW / BRITTEN

 

Maw: String Quartet No. 3 (Premiere Recording)

Britten: String Quartet No. 3, Three Divertimenti

 

The Coull Quartet

 

A very specicial release from Somm. The premiere recording of the Third String Quartet by Nicholas Maw.

 

It was commissioned by the University of Warwick and is played by the Coull Quartet who premiered the work to celebrate their 21st Anniversary in 1995. It is written in a continuous five movement structure reminiscent of Beethoven’s ‘Quartetto Serioso’ Op. 95. A perfect coupling for the Britten.

 

“Trying to emulate Britten’s deceptively light but economical masterpiece is a proposition indeed, but Maw does not embarrass himself. He, too, combines a felicitous, economical surface with a potent wielding of the overall structure. His eloquent, often wistful movements follow continuously….” Paul Driver Sunday Times 3 star recommendation.

 

“In its winning combination of the old and the new, this is a most successful release from every point of view.” Piers Burton-Page, International Record Review, September 2007

 

“The Coull respond to all the facets of the work (Maw String Quartet No.3) - it was written for them - and like the Britten, it’s warmly recorded.” BBC Music Magazine September 2007, Five stars for Sound.

 

“The Coull Quartet have often played Nicholas Maw’s Third Quartet since giving its premiere in 1995, and this recording - in exceptionally lucid sound – testifies to their mastery of its tricky technical details and their sensitivity to its expressive character.” Gramophone, Editor’s Choice, October 2007 + BBC Benchmark Recording September 2007

 

SOMM065