The Strad Recommends: Arcadia Quartet: Weinberg

THE STRAD RECOMMENDS

The Strad Issue: July 2026

Description: A ground-breaking quartet cycle ends on a high

Musicians: Arcadia Quartet

Works: Weinberg: String Quartets vol.6: nos.10, 12 and 17; Aria op.9; Capriccio op.11

Catalogue number: CHANDOS CHAN20363

With its sixth and final volume of quartets by Mieczysław Weinberg, the Arcadia Quartet has established itself as a formidable ambassador for this previously neglected composer. It has managed – whether through compelling live performances or studio recordings – to put these staggeringly varied works on the map.

This release illustrates the difficulty in pigeonholing Weinberg’s style, which seems to veer between traditional and more experimental approaches. His earlier works, such as the Aria, communicate a vein of introverted melancholy that remains a strong feature in his writing. But equally, pounding dissonant chords that appear in the Adagio of the Tenth Quartet embody both anguish and fury – a powerful statement that surely touches upon his own tragic personal history. In stark contrast, the opening of the 12th Quartet is enigmatic and searching.

The Arcadia Quartet delivers vivid depictions of these swift-changing and highly charged emotions, bringing a cogent narrative to its interpretations. A raw rhythmic drive grabs you in the Presto of the 12th Quartet as scrunchy, aggressively constructed chords pulsate through it. A more strongly anchored tonal idiom features in the Quartet no.17 – fleetingly almost jazzy in the opening, which is superbly etched here. A winning simplicity colours the ensuing Andantino, melodically driven, yet questioning and unresolved. This searching features in the concluding Allegro, but fervently projected, rhythmically infused material ultimately takes control. All in all, a wonderful release.

JOANNE TALBOT