Stanford: String Quartets, Vol. 3

Album review

A major figure of British musical life at the end of the 19th century, Sir Charles Villiers Stanford was however eclipsed by his students Gustav Holst and Ralph Vaughan Williams. Born into a well-off family in Dublin, he became a renowned professor and a talented conductor. As a composer, he left behind an extended catalogue from which emerged his collection of sacred music which was held in high regard by, among others, Sir Thomas Beecham.

Furthermore, the Irish composer wrote seven symphonies, concertante works and chamber music including eight quartets, five of which are perfectly finished. Artistic successors to Schubert, Mendelssohn and Brahms, Stanford’s quartets are nevertheless excellent pieces of work. Although they may lack original composition, they are perfectly written in a romantic vein, with expressive lyricism. The first two quartets presented here are very vibrant, enthusiastically received by critic George Bernard Shaw at the time of their creation between 1892 and 1894.

The Quartet in A minor, Op. 122 was quickly composed during a fishing excursion near Hadrian’s Wall in 1910, an area which Stanford held dear as it allowed him to escape the exuberant London lifestyle. The piece may have been played the following year, but it remained unpublished. Unearthed in 1980, it is recorded here for the first time, in an edition prepared by musicologist Jeremy Dibble for the musicians of the Dante Quartet, although this will be the last one for this iteration of the group as they are renewing three of their members at the start of 2020. Without a doubt, there will be more musical adventures to follow. © François Hudry/Qobuz