IDAGIO | Britten: String Quartet No. 2 - 3 Divertimentos - Miniature Suite

Featuring

Martin Burgess
Clare Hayes
Fiona Bonds
William Schofield
Emperor String Quartet
Benjamin Britten

Did you know?

1/7

Composition History

Britten's String Quartet No. 2 was commissioned in early 1945 as part of his commemoration of the 250th anniversary of Henry Purcell's death.

Performer Biography

The Emperor Quartet, formed in 1992, won the Menuhin Prize in 1994 and First Prize, Mozart Prize, and Contemporary Music Prize at the Evian/Bordeaux International String Quartet Competition in 1995.

Composer Biography

Britten revised his String Quartet in D major in 1974, two years before his death, for a performance at the Aldeburgh Festival.

Album & Artwork

The album's front cover features Maggi Hambling's Scallop, a tribute to Benjamin Britten located on Aldeburgh beach, with a quote from his opera Peter Grimes: 'I hear those voices that will not be drowned'.

Composer Biography

Benjamin Britten, the composer, was particularly drawn to vocal genres, with his first opera, Peter Grimes, achieving phenomenal success in 1945 when he was only 31.

Compositional Technique

The third movement of Britten's String Quartet No. 2, called Chacony, explicitly connects to Henry Purcell and is based on a theme with an ambiguous harmonic character personal to Britten.

Performer Biography

The Emperor Quartet has contributed to film soundtracks, appearing on There Will Be Blood (2008) and Norwegian Wood (2010), both scored by Jonny Greenwood of Radiohead.