Gramophone Magazine
August 2024
Editor's Choice

Protean Quartet

Purcell: Pavan in G Minor, Z. 752 (Transcr. for String Quartet by Protean Quartet)
Purcell: Chacony in G Minor, Z. 730 (Transcr. for String Quartet by Protean Quartet)
Schubert: String Quartet No. 4 in C major, D46
Josquin: Mille regretz, NJE 28.25 (Transcr. for String Quartet by Protean Quartet)
Schubert: String Quartet No. 13 in A Minor, Op. 29 No. 1, D. 804 "Rosamunde"
Purcell: Dioclesian, Z. 627: Act V. Dance (Transcr. for String Quartet by Protean Quartet)

Winner of the 2022 York Early Music International Young Artists Competition, Protean Quartet makes its Linn debut with an eclectic programme that transcends musical eras. Taking polyphony as a starting point, the versatile young quartet ventures into various epochs, ranging from Purcell's Pavan Z. 752, Chacony Z. 730 and Dance from the opera Dioclesian, to Schubert's String Quartets Nos. 4 and 13 ('Rosamunde') by way of Josquin's famed 'Mille regretz'. Although different in style, these works show an equal care in the treatment of every individual voice, each one meticulously played by Protean Quartet's outstanding musicians. A multifaceted album which will delight existing polyphony enthusiasts and create many more!

"The quartet sound itself combines a lovely rich sonority with a tremendous span of weight, timbre and attack...Beautiful stuff, while also being something you can get your intellectual teeth into." - Gramophone Magazine, August 2024