The Britten Quartet cannot be accused of taking this music too lightly. From the very first phrase of Britten's Second Quartet, it is clear that these will be expansive, carefully thought-out interpretations, played with considerable tonal refinement in a recording (The Maltings, Snape) of extreme clarity and almost excessive brightness of sonority. Alongside this, the Amadeus Quartet's 1963 recording, now remastered on mid-price Decca, has a parched, slightly boxy sound. Yet there is a sense of intimacy, a spontaneity of shaping in their performance that leaves the Britten Quartet sounding stolid and self-conscious. On the other hand, the Britten's eloquent deliberation in the earlier stages of the work's long finale makes the Amadeus seem too casual: they despatch the movement in 15½ minutes, the Britten in a more appropriate 18:3/4 minutes. The final build-up in the Britten Quartet's performance has enormous strength of purpose, the concluding chords positively orchestral in weight. This expansiveness is more convincing than the relatively hard-driven approach of the Alberni Quartet (CRD), although in the work as a whole it is still the Amadeus who find the greatest variety of expression consistent with an effective presentation of its unusual yet satisfying structure.
In the Third Quartet the Britten players are again thoughtful and intense, brilliant in technique but rather unyielding in expression. The first movement is over-articulated, the players finding a more natural outlet for their forceful style in the two scherzos. The ''Solo'' movement is so slow that the melody, marked ''very calm'', inevitably sags at the seams, and there are passages in the finale that sound laboured. The Amadeus and the Alberni are both too fast in this movement. The Lindsay Quartet (ASV) have a more suitable tempo, and are more naturally expressive than any of their rivals, but they are still insufficiently intimate in style for such deeply introspective music. As I recall, the Endellion Quartet's 1988 account of these two works (EMI—nla) was outstanding in its balance of urgency and lyricism. The Britten Quartet offer weightier, undeniably compelling readings. They deserve to be heard, and may well grow on you.'