Acclaimed pianist Piers Lane and his fellow Australians, the Goldner
String Quartet, reprise their highly successful partnership in these
world-premiere recordings of the two String Quartets and Piano Quintet
of Irish composer Hamilton Harty. Born in County Down, Harty (1879–1941)
was a remarkable, self-taught musician who wrote in a lyrical Romantic
idiom, as evidenced in these appealing works, while incorporating a
modal astringency and folk-music charm that are reminiscent of Percy
Grainger. In particular, the winding, pentatonic melody of the Lento of
the Piano Quintet—a lusciously big-boned work worthy of Tchaikovsky—and
the delightful 9/8 ‘hop jig’ of the first movement of String Quartet No 2
seem like settings of folk-melodies that have echoed for centuries
around the green hills of Ireland. Intriguingly, however, they are
entirely Harty’s own invention.
'Harty's melodies are appealing and graceful, the counterpoint is never
overwrought … song-like passages intervene in the Scherzo [of the Second Quartet], and there is more Romantic song in the third movement, at one
point most exquisitely decorated by one violin while the other sustains
the song … [the Piano Quartet] is a joy to hear, in a performance that
is compelling from first to last … I welcome this release with
enthusiasm: no-one could fail to enjoy it' (International Record Review)
'Here, most valuably, we have three of Harty's important chamber works …
Piers Lane plays immaculately with great sympathy … and the Goldner
Quartet play warmly to bring out the finest qualities of the music.
Altogether a delightful disc of music neglected for far too long'
(Gramophone)
'The Goldner String Quartet, joined in the Quintet by Piers Lane,
displays just the right warmth and spirit to suit this attractive
music … Hyperion's succulent recording is a peach' (BBC Music Magazine)
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