[the Penderecki's] not the sort of music that comes off if played half-heartedly, and the Royal String Quartet, with a detailed, clear recording, give it a natural precision and direction...[the Lutoslawski] clearly encourages heightened listening between these players: the structure and pacing remain taut, and it packs the emotional punch. This is great chamber music.

Whatever this music's challenges, the emotional disparities of Penderecki or the relative abstractions of Lutoslawski, the Royal Quartet meet them head on.

This is typically magnificent Hyperion production, with keenly preserved instrumental colour and a fine sense of space in the Potton Hall acoustic.