String Quartets Nos. 1 - 4

Tippett (1905-98) wrote a total of 7 string quartets, along with 2 early efforts that he suppressed deeming the works too immature. Like the symphonies, the quartets heard on this disc span Tippett's development as a composer, and reveal his deep feeling and skill for contrapuntal music. Drawing on inspiration from Beethoven, who Tippett held a great admiration for, the quartets display a rigorous intellectual logic and stylistic features that bear the hallmarks of Beethoven's late style.