The Eusebius Quartet and Alasdair Beatson’s recording of Korngold Chamber Music is a BBC Music Magazine Choice and January 2022 Recording of the Month!
“The Eusebius Quartet and Beatson bring this heady score all the intensity it deserves, their lavish tone conjuring quasi-orchestral colours, sensitive to every twist of the rubato-laden canvas (and there are many). It’s extreme music, its heart unfashionably yet gloriously on its sleeve, and the ensemble performs with real sincerity, wisely adding no affectation. The musicians seem to feel the music just as it is, complex on the surface, but direct and straight from the heart. A warm, glowing clarity about the recorded sound is appropriate enhancement. … in 2012 an unknown string quartet version of three [Much Ado About Nothing] movements in Korngold’s writing turned up in an auction. This is its first recording, with assistance from Tom Poster, who made the arrangement of the missing Intermezzo. Again, the Eusebius Quartet takes the music on its own terms, performing it with affection and high spirits in droves. … Sometimes it’s hard, listening to the Eusebius here [in String Quartet No. 2], to believe that there are only four musicians playing. … their full-blooded yet flexible tone to their intelligent handling of the ebb and flow, they offer a joyous feast of Korngold at his finest.”
—Jessica Duchen, BBC Music Magazine
See the full review on classical-music.com and see an interview with the Eusebius Quartet’s first violinist, Beatrice Philips in the January 2022 issue (available now)!