Ethel Mary Smyth
(1858-1944)
String Quartet in E minor (41:40)
String Quintet Op. 1 in E Major (26:28)
Joachim Griesheimer, cello
Mannheimer String Quartet
CPO 999352-2
This difficult-to-find disc is certainly worth searching for. Dame Ethyl Smyth was a very outspoken champion of women's rights and women composers. She studied with Herzogenberg and received encouragement from Brahms and Clara Schumann.
Smyth composed this powerful, mature and captivating string quartet in two time periods, the first two movements in 1902 and the rest in 1912. The form is classical; the sound is very Late Romantic, melodious, energetic and emotionally stirring. It is performed with excellence by the members of the Mannheimer String Quartet: Andreas Krecher and Claudia Hohorst, violins; Niklas Schwarz, viola; and Armin Fromm, violoncello.
