Stanford: Quartet no. 5 in B flat, opus 104

Instruments: two violins, viola and cello

Catalogue no.: Q1998-1

ISMN: 979-0-708807-60-5

This major string quartet, one of eight by Stanford (though only four were ever published), can stand beside other, better known, quartets, both in terms of quality of music and length. In a style that is not dissimilar from Brahms, it has challenging and interesting parts for all four players.

Stanford was born in Dublin in 1852, and died in London in 1924. His musical career started while he was still an undergraduate at Cambridge University, when he was appointed organist at Trinity College and conductor of the Cambridge University Musical Society. In 1882, aged 30, he was one of the founding professors of the Royal College of Music, where he taught composition for the rest of his life, and where his pupils included rising composers whose fame went on to surpass his own, such as Gustav Holst and Ralph Vaughan Williams. Four years later he was also appointed Professor of Music at Cambridge University. This new edition, with minor editing, is based on the original Stainer and Bell edition of 1908, which went out of print. Stanford’s two Fantasies for clarinet and string quartet are also published by SJ Music (Q1996-5, Q1996-7)