With Hartmann's ninetieth anniversary approaching next year, it is good to see new recordings of his music beginning to appear in advance. Cycles of the symphonies are under way from Koch and EMI and now come the two string quartets, never previously recorded, in fine, committed performances. The First (1933) was composed under the shadow of Hitler's assumption of power in Germany. It won the 1936 Carillon Competition in Geneva—hence the subtitle—and was dedicated to the conductor Hermann Scherchen, a close friend and mentor of the composer. As in the Second (1945-6, inscribed to Hartmann's wife Elisabeth), the influence of Bartok is paramount, allied to a natural, robust polyphony, features well pointed up in these accounts.
Neither work—nor interpretation—yields upall its secrets on first hearing, but on further acquaintance there can be no doubting thestature of either. The close-ish microphone placing does expose the odd infelicity in the playing, especially in the quiet passages and at 50 minutes, the disc is a little light—there is room a-plenty for thesolo violin works from the 1920s or better stillthe Kleines Konzert for quartet and percussion (1932). For programme notes, CPO have used extracts from Hartmann's autobiographical writings, but embedded within a ''fictive'' (sic) interview with the composer (who died in 1963) that destroys the original contexts. These quibbles aside, this is a most important recording and a must for anyone concerned with the music of our century.'