Walton: String Quartets

“The Doric gives outstanding, virtuoso performances of William Walton’s two string quartets. The first of them, formidable in its technical demands and harmonic language, is virtually unrecognisable from the Walton of maturity...but, when played with such panache, it provides a pungent contrast to the clarity and spry rhythmic sparring of the later A minor Quartet.” The Daily Telegraph, February 2011 *****

“Hats off first for the stunning recording. Every bow stroke hits home as if the players are there in your living room. Another bouquet for the musicians’ mastery of the three Ps: polish, passion, precision. Absorbing repertoire, too.” --The Times, March 2011 ****

“The Doric Quartet responds with great understanding to it and does well in making the most of the parts of the two works when, for different reasons, a good counsel for the defence is called for. The recording, too, gives an excellent account of music that, even when Walton was young and inexperienced, shows the keenness of his ear for texture.” --International Record Review, March 2011

“[a] blazingly committed and triumphantly assured rendering [of the early Quartet]...I was particularly smitten with the Doric's glowing treatment of the rapturous slow movement [of the A minor]...which they survey with a beguiling, almost conversational flow yet no loss of intimacy or piercing ardour...Make no mistake, this is a terrific disc in every way.” --Gramophone, May 2011

“the early Quartet is a remarkable creation, with its searching chromaticism, huge technical strength, and formidable finale...The Doric Quartet play both works with an ultra-focused vividness that's very effective in bringing out the early Quartet's sophisticated, Schoenberg-influenced range of light and shade.” --BBC Music Magazine, August 2011 ***