Villiers Quartet - Still: The 4 String Quartets (2014) [Hi-Res]

Tracklist

01. String Quartet No. 1: I. Adagio-Allegretto seriouso
02. String Quartet No. 1: II. Allegretto giocondo
03. String Quartet No. 1: III. Tempo di marcia quasi passacaglia
04. String Quartet No. 2: I. Allegro risoluto
05. String Quartet No. 2: II. Molto adagio. Molto legato
06. String Quartet No. 2: III. Allegro vivo
07. String Quartet No. 3: I. Allegro marcato
08. String Quartet No. 3: II. Adagio sostenuto
09. String Quartet No. 3: III. Allegro. Pressante
10. String Quartet No. 3: IV. Tempo di marcia
11. String Quartet No. 4: I. Allegro agitato
12. String Quartet No. 4: II. Poco lento
13. String Quartet No. 4: III. Tempo di marcia
14. String Quartet No. 4: IV. Angoscioso


Robert Still’s four string quartets vividly encapsulate his compositional career. The first two, of which No. 1 was first performed in 1948, display an early inclination towards folk-song and pre-classical models, while Nos. 3 and 4, written during the 1960s “without key”, reflect his later change towards a continental European-influenced method of composition that can be summed up by the abandonment of writing in a tonal style. These world première recordings owe a considerable debt to the editorial expertise of James Dickenson, leader of the Villiers Quartet, who prepared the performance material from the original scores.

DOWNLOAD ALBUM [flac]

DOWNLOAD ALBUM [Hi-Res]