Beethoven’s String Quartet in A major belongs to the first set of string quartets the composer had published in 1801. Whilst more traditional in its approach, and clearly informed by the work of Haydn and Mozart, this work is infused with a brashness that signals the emergence of the composers own signature. Bursting to life from the very beginning, this is a work full of grace and elegance and an example of Beethoven’s finest work in his early quartet writing.

Debussy’s String Quartet in G minor is a work that breathed new life into the traditional. Whilst outwardly conventional in its structure, this work expanded the palette of the quartet in its employment of new and bold techniques allowing the music to reach exciting new extremes from the most subtle to sweepingly grand. This quartet is full of vitality and richness that places it among the great works for string quartet.