The Martin String Quartet:
David Martin (violin)
Neville Marriner (violin)
Eileen Grainger (viola)
Bernard Richards (cello)
During rhe years 1782-5 (when he was in his twenties) Mozart composed six string quaitets which he ded:cated to his ' dear friend Haydn.' The Quartet in D m nor, K.421, is the second of thes-; and in its combination of grace and sombre power it represents one of his finct achievements in instrumental music. The opening movement, with iu feeling of agitation held in check, is followed by a more serene Andante, a minuet at once dark-toned and forthright, and a finale consisting of a series of variations on a theme in the rhythm of a Siciliano.
' La oracion del torero ' (' The Bull-fighter's Prayer ') is one of the best-known works of the Spanish composer Joaquin Turina, who died in Madrid in 1949, a-t the age of sixty-six.
Harold Rutland