In his 1st String Quartet, the 26-year-old Bertold Hummel already reveals himself to be an inventive musician who knows how to express vitality and passion in skilfully crafted movements. His youthful enthusiasm for Hindemith and Bartok cannot be overheard in the four movements.

Variable metres, dance fragments and, above all, the Gregorian chorale in the second movement already point to his later major works. As a cellist, he is very familiar with the various ways of playing the string instruments and they are used to great effect in this forward-moving piece.

The carefully researched edition published by Simrock will be a real discovery for curious chamber musicians and concert organisers. Difficulty level: moderately difficult

(introductory text in the publisher's catalogue)