Michael Nyman wrote Quartet No.5 & No.4 for The Smith Quartet in 2011 and Quartet No.5 receives its premiere recording on this CD. “String Quartet No. 5 (2011) is the first of my quartets not only to have a subtitle but, more importantly, not to be based on pre-existing musical material. The subtitle ’Let’s not make a song and dance out of this’ refers to the fact that the piece is made up of movements that could either be considered as songs or dances or not!
The first movement may be a dance, the second may be a song, the third a song, the fourth a dance - maybe a tango, the fifth a dance that might be dangerous to dance to, while the sixth movement refers back to both the second and first movements.
String Quartet No. 4 was composed in the winter of 1994/5 and, like my first three quartets, is based on pre-existing material. It is dedicated to the memory of Alan Bush who had a powerful influence on my musical and political world at the Royal Academy of Music between 1961 and 1964, and who died on 31 October 1995.” Michael Nyman
For over 20 years The Smith Quartet has been at the forefront of the world’s contemporary music scene. They have developed a repertoire by some of the world’s most exciting composers and have established an international reputation for their dynamic style and original approach to contemporary music. The quartet commenced their residency at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music & Dance in January 2018.
“As versatile as the Kronos Quartet, and smoother than the Brodskys, The Smith Quartet have edged ahead of their competitors in contemporary chamber music...” The Independent on Sunday
“Effortless class...” BBC Radio 3: Andrew McGregor - Record Review
