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American Record Guide

English composer Robin Stevens earned composition degrees in his early 20s and then was struck by illness; it was nearly two decades before he could continue his compo­sitional schooling, starting his PhD in Man­chester University in 2007. Though crucial creative years were spent in other ways, a family bequest has allowed for his catalog to begin to be recorded. I must mention here that I feel tenderhearted towards the last line of his biography, as it certainly conjures up a vivid image of Mr Stevens and his (naturally) English sense of humor: “[He] enjoys current affairs, holds loquacious dinner parties, thrives on stimulating conversation, is a keen cyclist, preaches occasionally, and is current­ly trying to break the 23-minute barrier on his local Park Run.” The String Quintet in C minor gives you goosebumps before the one-minute mark is even reached, and Quar­tet 1 makes it its job to turn dissonance into its own harmonic language. Quartet 2, with movement titles like ‘God-Seeker’ and ’Arguer’ make me wonder if the listener is being taken on an autobiographical journey in these four movements that hit the soul in a powerful way. It is a pity that Stevens lost such a large chunk of his composing career, and I’m glad that these pieces are now brought into the public eye and ear.