Heath Quartet – Press

“It had all the hallmarks of one of Haydn’s free-wheeling symphonic finales, whilst retaining the individual and conversational voices of his quartet writing. Best of all, it put a smile on my face.”

“..with the clarity of interpretation and ensemble by the Heath Quartet, the audience enjoyed a wonderful conclusion to a vivid and memorable concert.”

“From there, the quartet’s performance of Henry Purcell’s Chacony in G Minor, Z. 730, a four-part viol consort piece, allowed us to hear the barest bones of their playing in a sweeping tune, with successive variations taking place as if improvised by the players. The finale, as it is led in a slow passage of half steps on the viola, was magnetic.”

“The Heath not only conveyed total mood and atmosphere on a dime, but they are also wrought of a single-minded sound.”

“The outstanding skill of four instrumentalists passing and receiving themes was displayed to perfection in the entire programme…”

“This was marvellously proportioned playing that promises a great deal for the future of an already distinguished group.”

“Working through the sequence of 21 variations in the final Chacony, there was a sense of adventure in this voyage, travelling through a musical landscape punctuated by dashingly handled cadenzas.”

“That makes for a powerfully vivid and focused account of the Third Quartet, and a Fifth Quartet that, not entirely predictably, comes across as the lightest of the set. But elsewhere, it’s devastating: the tear-stained climax of the first movement of the First Quartet, the sudden, poignant fade at the end of the first movement of the Sixth and the piercing stab of pain in that work’s closing bars. They play the impassioned solos of the Fourth’s central Non troppo lento relatively straight: the ardour grows from within, culminating in a final, misty vison of nocturnal stillness that is – no other word for it – magical.”

“This was one of the finest concerts I have attended. … The magnificent sound that filled Scargill Chapel was awesome, especially the unison playing so perfectly focussed and so huge that, as a friend said, ‘They sounded like the Berlin Phil.’ ”

“The careful balancing of textures and clarity of the part writing are regularly impressive. The unfolding of the counterpoint in the first two quartets, and whirlwind delicacy and transparency of the final section of the Third, are spellbinding. And their treatment of the deeply tragic finale of the Sixth, which never becomes lachrymose, could hardly be bettered.”

“What is most impressive about their interpretation is an overall sense of balance. Their ensemble playing is remarkable, from the moment the instruments tackle the opening chorale-like chords. They play as one and manage to build tension over long stretches.”

“The Heath Quartet’s lush, integrated sound in the opening chords of Tchaikovsky’s optimistic String Quartet No 1 in D, Op. 11, sets the tone for this disc – the English ensemble’s debut on Harmonia Mundi… …The players trace sensitive arcs with muted strings in the delicate, folk-inspired second movement while the Scherzo hums with energy, the quartet producing a full, vibrant sound before the joyous romp of the quartet’s finale.”

“…even if these introspective moments are the breath-holding high points of this disc, the Heaths’ upbeat playing is irresistible too, catching the epic scale of No 3 particularly well.”

“There are celebrated Russian recordings of these quartets with a deeper Slavic passion, but the Heath Quartet brings to Tchaikovsky urgency and a willingness to engage with intensity.”

“The Wigmore hush – and the Heaths’ response to it – is most beneficial in the long, fragile span of the Fifth’s finale. Caution is thrown to the winds most memorably in the Fourth Quartet, the cycle’s charged flashpoint. The Heaths maintain tension throughout, withholding arrival-points from this birth-to-life narrative, whereas The Lindsays allow breathing space in the central, Bartókian nocturne. Both approaches are persuasive, but no one has dramatised the finale’s palindrome, with a spooky hall of mirrored harmonics at its centre, with the poise of the Heaths. A tremendous achievement.”

“…there seemed to be an even greater heightened awareness of the music, the playing seemed to have a very real instinctive insight and they played it with real, infectious joy.”