String Quartets Nos. 1, 2 & 6

'....the Dante Quartet… ensure a maximum quotient of excitement. … The cycle of Stanford’s Quartets has now been completed in excellent style'

Jonathan Woolf, MusicWeb International

'Hats off, folks: the completion of the first full recorded cycle of Stanford’s string quartets deserves a moment of acknowledgement. … the more you listen to this music, the more distinctively Stanford’s own voice emerges. The way he uses pizzicato and tremolando to lighten the texture, as well as to add colour; the sudden flashes of wit, and above all, the warmth and lyrical impulse that’s never far from the surface… Few can have more experience of Stanford’s style than the Dante Quartet, and as with previous releases in this series, their performances go far beyond mere read-throughs. They’re ardent, alert and thorougly lived in. The Dantes have a flair for Stanford’s moments of musical storytelling… Each of the three performances generates its own momentum, creating a sense of each work’s coherent musical narrative. If you’ve collected the set – or just want to explore – there’s no need to hesitate.'

Richard Bratby, Gramophone