WILLIAM STERNDALE BENNETT (1816-1875): String Quartet in G, WoO 17 (First Recording), Sextet for Piano, String Quartet and Double Bass in F Sharp Minor, Op. 8, Chamber Trio for Piano, Violin and Cello, Op. 26.

Description: The quartet is one of Bennett’s earliest surviving works (1831), revealing a precocious talent still strongly influenced by Haydn. Mendelssohn is the model for the sextet of 1835, though Bennett’s highly virtuosic piano writing, with its concertante interplay, reinforces the work’s lyrical qualities (and requires dexterity) as well as its advanced harmonies and hymnal beauty. The concise Chamber Trio (1839) radiates sheer charm while displaying an even greater grasp of structure and is the first English example in the trio form where both string instruments are given parts independent of the piano. Villiers Quartet, Jeremy Young (piano), Leon Bosch (double bass).