Górecki’s fame owes almost entirely to the enormouspopularity of his SymphonyNo 3. These string quartets,written originally for theKronos Quartet, departdramatically from the tenderness andharmonic simplicity of the famous symphony.While not a return to his early atonalworks, these quartets are a retreat intosomething darker and less transparent. Theplaying by the Royal String Quartet iscompelling, severe and full of conviction,and I would describe the music, which oftenhas a relentless, pulsing quality, in thosesame terms. There is much beauty here –particularly in the slower and more drawnoutString Quartet No 3 – but it is beauty ofa more challenging kind.

Evan Meagher is from Readings Hawthorn