Complete String Quartets [CD]

Until their dissolution, the Verdi Quartet was one of the most prominent ensembles in the German chamber music scene for over three decades. They have made invaluable contributions far beyond their home with their highly-regarded complete recordings of Schubert and Brahms and the, until now, unique recordings of the string quartets of Ernst Toch. Cpo has now released the "farewell gift" of the quartet, fulfilling a long-held wish by the ensemble - the three quartets of the British "late Romantic" Ralph Vaughan Williams. These again offer the "Verdis" the opportunity to live out their much-praised virtues in all their intimacy and go full circle from his early declaration of love for the English folk song to the consoling swansong that the great composer wrote in the darkest of times at the age of 72.