The Budapest String Quartet
Souvenir
BRIDGE 9077

Here is a real rarity- music that the legendary Budapest String Quartet never recorded commercially- released for the first time ever! This disc also features as guest artist the great French-American harp virtuoso, Marcel Grandjany, in two favorites- Handel's Harp Concerto, and Debussy's gorgeous Harp Dances. Included here are Daniel Gregory Mason's forgotten masterpiece, Quartet on Negro Themes, Griffes' Sketches on Indian Themes, and a haunting live performance of the Lento from Dvorak's "American" Quartet, a work the Budapest recorded in the studio several times. As an added bonus, the fabulous foursome is heard in an arrangement of the pop tune "Dinah"- a hilarious sendup of both classical and pop music. Souvenir allows the listener to sample a hitherto little known side of the Budapest's work, all in superbly restored sound from Bridge's path breaking Great Performances from The Library of Congress series.

Reviews:

“Souvenir is the word – miscellany is another – but whatever you call it this is an unashamedly engaging collection of repertoire...” - MusicWeb International