Richard Flury String Quartets of Interest

Toccata Classics previously released eight volumes of Richard Flury's music. These albums featured his orchestral music, choral works, and even an opera or two. 

This release begins a survey of his chamber music. It presents two of Flury's seven string quartets. He composed the first in 1926. No. 4 was written in 1940.

Flury was a Swiss composer and conductor. He studied composition with Hans Huber and Joseph Marx. He also studied conducting with Felix Weingartner. In 1931 he joined the faculty of the Solothurn Canton School. Flury remained there until his death. 

Flury composed steadily and prolifically. His seven string quartets span a half-century. No. 1 shows the 30-year-old composer finding his voice. 

It's an attractive work, with some modernisms thrown in. I could hear hints of Hindemith, Bartok, and even a little Schoenberg. But it's all mixed together in a well-constructed composition. And at no time does it sound derivative. 

By 1940 Flury had found his voice. And that voice spoke the language of the late Romantic period. In some ways, I think it's a stronger work. It seemed more relaxed, and more organic in its development. 

The Colla Parte Quartet delivers some fine readings of these works. Their playing is both animated and engaged. The quartet gives the impression that these works are fun to play. And that is not a bad thing.

Richard Flury: Chamber Music, Volume One
String Quartets, Nos. 1 and 4
Colla Parte Quartet
Toccata Classics TOCC 0712