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Congleton Chronicle

This album—full title “Robert Saxton’s String Quartets Nos. three and four and Sonata for Solo Violin ‘Reflections in Time'” (too long for the heading)—hits a sweet spot between challenging and, well, not challenging.

My music streamer of choice recently suggested some very nice piano music and, for about ten minutes, it was nice. To be fair, the performer threw in some unexpected additions, but it was, at the end of the day, garden centre music: written well enough to sound as if it was saying something, but bland enough not to annoy anyone shopping for petunias. Probably next to Terry Oldfield and “Sounds of the Panpipes for Dogs” on the display.

Performed by the Kreutzer Quartet—and notably its violinist Peter Sheppard Skærved—this music is not garden centre friendly. Although it’s modern, it has an exhilarating and enervating sound. There may not be much in the way of melody, but it creates an ambience.

“String Quartet No. 3” unfolds over five movements, from bustling and windswept to the still and eerie “Sea Ground”, via an Elgar/cello feel—each distinct in mood and texture.

The “Sonata for Solo Violin ‘Reflections in Time'”, written for Skærved and again in five movements, is more of the same, though expressive in different ways and more romantic/emotional. It was inspired by the violinist’s own visual art and the idea of time as a fluid force. The listener can only envy Skærved’s ability to pluck moving sounds from rather formless music (the sleeve notes mention repetition, so it’s not structureless—but you won’t go home whistling it). The rest of the album is made up of shorter pieces, but you get the drift.

This, to my surprise, is possibly one of my albums of the year, purely because it’s so engrossing; like watching the sea, there’s something new every time you listen.