Although he is chiefly
remembered today as the inspirational
teacher of Benjamin Britten, Frank Bridge
wrote some splendid orchestral music
(including works such as The Sea
and Enter Spring), in addition
to a variety of operatic, vocal, chamber
and instrumental compositions. He was,
moreover, one of the leading musicians
of his generation in other fields also,
including performing chamber music,
as a member of a leading string quartet,
the English Quartet. He also developed
a successful career as a conductor,
though in later years he gave less priority
to this aspect of his work.
Bridge is now recognized
as one of the most advanced and cosmopolitan
of the English composers of the 20th
century. His technical command and his
understanding of organising larger-scale
forces were first rate, and he was never
afraid to move into challenging, even
uncharted territories of musical style
and expression. For this reason he was
not always appreciated and understood
by contemporary opinion, but the fact
that his music has stood the test of
time and has been increasingly performed
in recent years bears testimony to his
artistic vision.
As a string player
and a regular member of a major quartet,
Bridge was well placed to compose music
in this genre. Both his Second and Fourth
Quartets bear witness to his mastery
of the idiom, in general scope and in
detail. The former gained immediate
recognition in the form of the Cobbett
Prize, and ranks among his very finest
achievements. It is directly approachable
music, whereas the Fourth Quartet, written
twenty years later, is more of a ‘tough
nut to crack’, from the listener’s (and
probably the player’s) point of view.
In each work there is a masterly control
of line and direction, so that the finale
forms a true conclusion to all the musical
developments.
This new recording
by the Maggini Quartet is a splendid
achievement, with technically accomplished
and artistically commanding performances
aided by clear and atmospheric recorded
sound. There is due attention to detail
among the ensemble, but a sense of direction
too. The latter seems at its strongest
in the sweeping momentum of the outer
movements of the Quartet No. 2, but
the more elusive nature of the Quartet
No. 4 finds the players equally committed.
An advantage of getting to know the
music through these committed performances
might well be that the Fourth will in
due course reveal its secrets fully
to the responsive listener. At any rate
there is much to admire on an initial
hearing too.
Like so many English
composers of his generation, Bridge
was drawn to write a Phantasy Quartet
in a single movement. For Piano Quartet
rather than string quartet, the piano
replacing the second violin, this performance
features one of Britain’s finest pianists,
Martin Roscoe. There is a splendid sense
of teamwork in this well prepared performance,
and again the recorded sound is good,
with a natural balance amid a warm acoustic.
The Phantasy Quartet
is an attractive piece, composed at
a time when Bridge employed a more romantic
lyricism. It makes an attractive addition
to an already appealing programme.
Terry Barfoot
see
also review
by Tony Haywood
Frank
BRIDGE (1879-1941) String Quartet
No. 1 (1906) [29.01] String Quartet
No. 3 (1926) [30.35] Maggini Quartet
rec. Potton Hall, Suffolk, England,
18-20 June 2002 NAXOS 8.557133
[59.35]
Martin Roscoe (piano), 
