Gramophone Magazine
May 2020
Recording of the Month

John Mills (violin I), Jeremy Isaac (violin II), Tippett Quartet

Gorecki: Sonata for 2 Violins, Op. 10
Gorecki: String Quartet No. 3, Op. 67 '...songs are sung'

The Sonata for Two Violins is one of Henryk Górecki’s earliest acknowledged works – its contrasts, instrumental rivalries and sophisticated technique a worthy rounding-off of his formative period. The Third String Quartet with its evocative subtitle ‘… songs are sung’ represents a culmination of Górecki’s preoccupations with elaborate and emotive melodic shapes and closely intertwined harmonies, its final minutes recalling the beauty and poignancy of the composer’s Third Symphony.

"The music in the Tippett Quartet’s hands really sings...but there is also a breathtaking sense of control...The recorded sound is superb, neither too resonant nor too dry, allowing the Tippetts every opportunity for the full variety of their sound to shine – and shine is exactly the word for playing of this quality...I cannot recommend this recording highly enough, and have run out of superlatives." - Gramophone Magazine, May 2020.