RECORDING OF THE MONTH     CHOPIN Waltzes and Impromptus Vladimir Feltsman £11 post free World-wide VIVALDI The four seasons London Mozart Players/Juritz £12 post free World-wide BEETHOVEN Symphonies 4 and 5 LSO/Yondani Butt £12 post free World-wide

BARGAIN OF THE MONTH

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Frank BRIDGE (1879-1941) String Quartet No. 1 (1906) [29.01] String Quartet No. 3 (1926) [30.35] Maggini Quartet rec. Potton Hall, Suffolk, England, 18-20 June 2002 NAXOS 8.557133 [59.35]

The Magginis mean business; that is the unequivocal message hearing this disc. The attack and unshakeable commitment of the players positively leaps out of the speakers at you. Their technical skill whether in the flood of intensity or the subtler voicings and interplay is never in doubt. The First Quartet dates from 1906,a work written by the 27 year old composer for the Bologna competition. This is music caught in the confident high tide of the romantic sea. It resembles that of early Zemlinsky and Karl Weigl (such a pity the Arttis were never able to complete their Weigl cycle for Nimbus - will anyone rescue that series). The whole work projects warmth and affection - a tribute to the Magginis. Ah but then the remorseless pages are turned and we come to a world changed by The Great War - or at least A Great War. That war progressively snuffed out the innocence from his music and injected scorch and rancour. The Third Quartet has about it a clarity, spareness and desolation. This is the dark side of the moon by comparison with the first two quartets. The scene is an almost palpable picture of deserted trench networks and the dead hanging in the looms of wire. That said the Magginis in the central movement superbly capture a touchingly wistful lament. Lovely playing. This layout nicely assuages the acerbities of the New Viennese Bridge with the young romantic headstrong innocent of the pre-war quartets. With the Magginis nothing seems impossible. I can imagine them setting down the complete Van Dieren quartets in a few years time. This disc goes right to the top of the recommendations for its scorching ripeness and sentiment. Rob Barnett Advertising Rates Visitor stats MusicWeb International has over 40,000 Classical CD reviews on offer Discs received Having a problem Donating? Gerard Hoffnung Concerts & The Bricklayer Story   New Releases New Releases   MusicWeb sells the Polish catalogue CDAccord £10.50 post free W-W MusicWeb sells the Arcodiva catalogue £12.00 post free W-W £11.75 post-free world- wide MusicWeb can now offer you discs from the following catalogues: Prices include postage [Acte Préalable £13.50] [Arcodiva £12.00] [Avie from £6.25] [British Music Society £12.00] [CDACCORD from £13.50 ] [ClassicO £12.50] [Hallé from £11] [Heritage £10] [Hortus £14.99 ] [Lyrita ONLY £11.75 ] [Nimbus Special prices] [Northern Flowers £13.50] [REDCLIFFE £11 ] [Sheva £11] [Tactus £11.50 ] [Talent from £12.00 ] [Toccata Classics £10.50 ] Musicweb Special Offers Monthly Best Buys     Google Ads - for information about privacy matters, click here.  Amazon Musicweb International is a participant in the Amazon EU Associates Programme, an affiliate advertising programme designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com

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