Tippett: String Quartets Volume 2

Completing their acclaimed survey of Tippett’s string quartets, the young British quartet which has taken his name as their own here presents the composer’s Third and Fifth String Quartets. Both are infused with Tippett’s abiding fascination with Beethoven; the former work brimming with passionate counterpoint that recalls Beethoven’s late string quartets and piano sonatas, the latter harking back to Tippett’s earlier preoccupation with dramatic sonata principles. By turns dazzling, dynamic and lyrical, these are pivotal works of 20th-century chamber music. Volume 1 is available on 8570496.