Complete Reactions to the overwhelming influence of Wagner towards the end of the 19-th century demanded a radical change in musical style, form and content. In France, the Impressionists created a new feeling of sensibility of orchestral palette, in Vienna, Schoenberg and his followers developed a system which abandoned conventional tonality. In Hungary, the nationalist Bela Bartok integrated the influence of native folk music tunes and rhythms way beyond anything previously attempted, thus creating a highly complex and personal style.
Bartok became one of the most influential composers of the 20-th century, and his String Quartets represent the summit of his art. The six quartets show his development from late romantic to experimentalist, expressing everything he had to say in melodic, rhythmical and structural sense. The quartets became cornerstones of the literature, and form a huge challenge to every selfrespecting quartet to perform. The Rubin Quartet occupied themselves for years with these masterpieces, studying and analysing them to the bone, and presenting here a superb recording!
Another gem in the rich String Quartet repertoire of Brilliant Classics.
