Brett Dean: Epitaphs & String Quartets

Australian composer and violist Brett Dean’s works are highly praised for their aplomb and power of expression as well as their ready listener accessibility. The three works featured here were composed between 2003-13 and are all premiere recordings. Eclipse is an evocation of saved refugees; Epitaphs represent individual obituaries for lost friends. The Second String Quartet presents Shakespeare’s Ophelia not as a passively suffering victim but as a ‘feistier personality’, full of passion and agility, echoed by the great variety of vocal facets required of the soprano.