A mixed programme, this, comprising a documentary of the Petersen Quartet on tour in the US, short spots for each member of the group to talk about his career and interests, and a selection of single quartet movements (the finale of Op 18 No 4, the Grieg Andante, the Scherzo from the Schumann, and the Death and the Maiden variations). There’s also a fascinating meeting and discussion between the Quartet and Ernst Krenek’s widow, prior to a recording of two Krenek quartets (we hear only short snatches of these).

The tour documentary shows the musicians checking in at the airport, travelling by plane, train and minibus, signing CDs and attending receptions. This is, perhaps, of limited interest, but the Petersens are an articulate, friendly bunch, and by the end of the film I really felt I’d got to know them and appreciate the high artistic ideals that animate them. Especially valuable are some short rehearsal sequences showing meticulous efforts to bring out expressive details in late Beethoven.

The most impressive of the filmed performances is the Grosse Fuge, an assured, searching account whose impact is enhanced by the subdued, shadowy lighting. Elsewhere, the effect of the playing isn’t helped by over-fancy visual production – the players sitting back-to-back for the Schumann, for instance – and too many close-ups of flying fingers. I find it’s far more interesting to see faces as well as hands, and to experience the rapport between the players. Despite occasional poor alignment between sound and vision, it’s a very professional production, however – a must for admirers of this fine quartet.