ALEXANDER GLAZUNOV (1865-1936): Complete String Quartets, Vol. 5 - No. 1 in D, Op. 1 and No. 7 in C, Op. 107.

Description: This valuable series concludes with the only available recordings of Glazunov's first and last quartets. The First is from the same year as his first symphony (1882) although it's much shorter - 22 minutes in four movements, two tinged with Russian folk song and, yes, an infectious second movement scherzo. Written in Parisian exile in 1930, the Seventh is a backward-looking exercise in Russian nostalgia, its final three movements having descriptive headings, "The Breath of Spring", "In the Mysterious Forest" (a fairy-tale scherzo with dancing sprites and spirits) and "Russian Festival". Utrecht String Quartet.