At the centre of Bartók's œuvre are his string quartets, which are generally acknowledged as some of the most significant pieces of 20th century chamber music

"Béla Bartók's string quartets are 'key works': in them is reflected the stylistic development not only of his own art but of the music of a whole age, the tw

(Boosey & Hawkes Scores/Books). HPS 77

At first sight a work devoted to Bartók's chamber music looks as though it were simply concerned with a genre division attempting an exposition of no more than

The author tells of his own development as a student, "of how he and his intrepid colleagues were converted to chamber music ... [and of how] four individualist