Product Review

On CD for the first time: the complete quartets of Spanish master Roberto Gerhard performed by the Arditti Quartet, to whom the works are dedicated. After Manuel de Falla, Gerhard is the boldest, most brilliant representative of the music of his country. Born in Catalonia and Arnold Sch¶nberg s sole Spanish student, Gerhard would be forced into exile by the civil war, become a British citizen, and finish out his life in Cambridge. His encounter with the Arditti Quartet was determining, as attests this superb recording of what can be considered the composer s masterworks.