The stranger to the domestic catalogues is Jan Carlstedt, a Swedish composer now in his sixties who originally studied in Stockholm, at the Royal College of Music in London, in Rome, Spain and Czechoslovakia. His Divertimento does not show many signs of these highly cosmopolitan origins but inhabits an agreeable idiom of free tonality that is at its most effective in the central Notturno. This is a beautiful movement, quiet, reflective and melodious. The opening Capriccio might well benefit from greater liveliness of style, for one of Gregor Zubicky's characteristics is to take rather measured tempos. This robs the final movement of Mozart's Quartet of its wit, and in Britten's Metamorphoses there is little sense of the hectic babble of activity in ''Bacchus'', nor of the driving energy and sense of danger that are of the essence in ''Phaeton''. The slow movement of Mozart's Quartet is gently and nicely played, but there is a somewhat limited range of expression in the first movement, which also suffers from erratic tempos, especially in the accompanying strings.
Britten's Phantasy Quartet is rather better done. It is one of his densest pieces, and one of the few that seem to show a direct influence of his teacher Frank Bridge (not simply in the fine craftsmanship but in the actual musical idiom). It is not played all that often: Leon Goossens, for whom it was written, did not, I think, do it much and other oboists do not seem to have taken to it very warmly. It is an odd work, but there is some fine music in it, and a characteristic exuberance of technique, which make it well worth bringing out from time to time. Zubicky is a skilful advocate. He is well recorded, with a change of acoustic for the necessary closeness of the Metamorphoses.'