Crawford: String Quartets Nos 1–3 - Edinburgh Quartet

Delphian’s second disc of chamber music by Robert Crawford was released shortly before his death in January 2012, aged 86, and pays fitting tribute to a composer whose long friendship with the Edinburgh Quartet ultimately brought him back to composition after three decades’ silence. Given here in characteristically vivid readings, these three fine works thus offer a fascinating overview of Crawford’s stylistic development; the second in particular, with its inspired wit and infectious musicality, deserves far greater renown. String Quartet No. 1, Op. 4 1 Moderato - Animato 8:11 2 Adagio Cantabile 5:15 3 Scherzo: Allegro 5:21 4 Mesto 7:32 String Quartet No. 2, Op. 8 5 Espressivo, Adagio Non Troppo 5:12 6 Leggiere, Allegretto 4:39 7 Scherzando, Allegro Molto 7:06 String Quartet No. 3 (2008) 8 Allegro Non Troppo 6:51 9 Vivace 2:59 10 Mesto 4:38 11 Moderato 5:09