There is absolutely no shortage of string quartet recordings, and a new set by the promisingly awarded but not terribly well-known may not stir up much interest. Furthermore, the group plunges in with the late quartets for its opening volume; many quartets wait until well into mid-career to take on these profound works, but anyone giving this set a miss will be deprived of an extraordinary chamber music experience. The players have clearly thought through every phrase of the music, with electric results. Sometimes it is a matter of sheer clarity. Consider the difficult , all too often a mass of undifferentiated sound. Listeners may be surprised to find that the 's performance is half a minute faster than average, even with the careful separation of the polyphonic lines. 's transcendent simple melodies and soaring variation sets are deeply felt; the magnificent Lydian prayer of the middle movement of the , is never overdone and is gripping indeed. In general, the leans toward delicacy rather than extremity. Consider the Scherzo of the , where the abrupt flat seventh unison is done in such a way that it can fade gracefully back to normalcy. Possibly those who prefer really radical versions of these works may find the a bit sedate, but there are so many wonderful moments to discover that even those listeners should hear these recordings. This is not the 's debut release, but it announces a major new presence on the chamber music scene. ~ James Manheim