1) Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Quartet in C K465 "Dissonance"
2) Joseph Haydn - Quartet in E-flat, Op. 33 No. 2 "The Joke"
3) Ludwig van Beethoven - Quartet in C minor, Op. 18 No. 4

How can you tell when musicians are doing a good job?

When you can't hear them anymore!

Maybe I should re-phrase that statement as follows: When you can't hear "them" anymore, and all you hear is the music! And that is precisely what the Windermere String Quartet achieve here with the launch of their first CD. Rona Goldensher (violin), Elizabeth Loewen Andrews (violin), Anthony Rapoport (viola), and Laura Jones (cello), a period instrument ensemble from Toronto Canada, fulfill their duty by making themselves inconspicuous within the music's narrative. Even though they stem from divergent backgrounds, and are individually active within other prominent ensembles such as the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra, Sinfonia Toronto, Tafelmusik and the Talisker Players, they seem to be able to easily leave that role and persona at the door when they perform together as the WSQ. Their choice of works for this new recording is certainly more than adequate in highlighting their talents, as they are prime examples of the "classical" era of the quartet by 3 masters who knew how to make 4 become 1.

The recording itself, engineered by guitarist Norbert Kraft and produced by Bonnie Silver, one of the best teams in the business right now with a long list of top sounding projects for Naxos to their credit, is clear and detailed, and certainly reinforces the immediacy behind the sound of these period instruments.

Jean-Yves Duperron - May 2012