Britten: String Quartets Nos 1 - 3

Advantages: Recognisable tunes
Disadvantages: Neither fish nor foul. Best stick to the original

..., as here, are reproductions of a single album track by track. Their output to date has been both prodigious, varied and at times esoteric with features on such names as Led Zeppelin, Bjork, David Bowie, Madonna and Yanni. At the last count Vitamin Records lists 198 titles!! So who are "The String Quartet Tribute"? Well, despite my best research efforts I'm still not too sure. I'm not even clear whether 'Tribute' is part of the group's name or whether it belongs in the title of each of their albums. They are led, at least in this instance, by Todd Mark Rubinstein who plays cello and bass. On the album under review the other performers are David Davison - 1st violin - and Paul Tobias - viola and 2nd violin (hey - doesn't that make a trio?!). They are joined on three tracks variously by Dominic Hradek (cello), Wesley Hredek (violin), Johnny... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful

Advantages: Music to take you beyond this world
Disadvantages: Needs a bit of patience

...“string quartet” you’ll maybe think of dry, intellectual, and BORING noises. But wait… anyone who enjoyed the Beatles at their best might recall that Yesterday featured Paul McCartney with acoustic guitar and… string quartet and that Eleanor Rigby dispensed even with the guitar. Boring? And more recently, Elvis Costello fans will no doubt have heard his wonderful album The Juliet Letters in which he is accompanied by the Brodsky Quartet, well-known to lovers of the classics for their interpretation of the mainstream string quartet repertoire. Chamber music was to earlier times what the radio and CD player are to us – a way of bringing music into our own rooms rather than a large hall. The very rich had their own musicians to play them to sleep. Bach’s Goldberg Variations (grand title – think of it as the theme music from The English... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Great music, great performances
Disadvantages: Unfamiliarity

...I’ve loved the Piano Quartet since first hearing it on R3. Written at Oxford as a teenager it is an astounding (and humbling) creation, which betrays its creators years if you can mentally re-score sections, such as the opening of the last movement, for a rock band – those pounding chords and short motifs are heavy-metal rifs for piano and strings! The ‘rock’ turns into ragtime at the end – not sure if that’s progress but it’s definitely fun! The rest of the disc will not disappoint – except for the teenager’s complaint (mine!) that it’s not loud enough!... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful