Kodaly: String Quartets Nos.1 & 2, Intermezzo & Gavotte

In the chamber works recorded here, spanning Kodaly's career, we can hear an unwavering desire to place genuine Hungarian folk music (rather than the 'style hongrois' espoused by the Strauss family and many other composers) within classical music traditions. Bartok wrote of his compatriot, ''If I were to name the composer whose works are the most perfect embodiment of the Hungarian spirit, I would answer, Kodaly.'' The Dante Quartet, winners of the BBC Music Magazine Award for their album of Franck and Faure, respond to this music with dancing energy and folkloric simplicity.