‘These works rank with Elizabeth Maconchy’s 13 Quartets as major British additions to the repertoire’

‘so beautifully produced by Mike Purton, with detailed, informative glossy liner notes’

‘These are totally committed performances by the Archaeus Quartet’ Paul RW Jackson BMS Journal

Re. Quartet no 10 ‘This is a major contribution to the String Quartet repertoire by any stretch of the imagination. I would personally give reams of ‘established repertoire’ to ensure that I had this Quartet in my CD library. It is my favourite work on this disc and is one of the finest quartets by any composer from any period of musical history that I have heard’. John France - Music Web-International

Leonard Salzedo was originally a violinist, trained at the Royal College of Music and also studied composition with Herbert Howells, orchestration with Gordon Jacob and conducting with George Dyson. In 1947 he joined the London Philharmonic Orchestra as a violinist, eventually moving to the Royal Philharmonic, where Sir Thomas Beecham insisted on performing some of his compositions including his First Symphony and his ballet The Witch Boy (eventually credited with more than 1,000 performances).

The three String Quartets (1,5 & 10) date respectively from 1942, 1952 and 1997, covering the first and last of his compositions in this genre. It’s very interesting to note the various influences in these most attractive pieces and we can often hear hints of Leonard’s own Sephardic Jewish ancestry.