String Quartet 12 / American String Quartet
The Lindsays are England's finest active string quartet. They have a somewhat raw and edgy sound, but they perform with a passion and spontaneity that makes up in excitement what they sometimes lack in seductive tone. They attack these two quartets as though their very lives depended on it, and while this makes for a very high-pressureThe AmericanQuartet,the performance of No. 13 is simply electrifying. In a way, this is more important, becauseThe AmericanQuartet is so charming as to be almost performer-proof. It always works. No. 13, on the other hand, is a flaming masterpiece that repays the 110 percent conviction it receives here. A great quartet record.--David Hurwitz