Rudersdal Chamber Players, who play Love and Loss, were founded in 2017 by violinist Christine Pryn. They have a strong focus on presenting masterworks by less well-known classical composers, and have performed in many countries worldwide. The composers here, husband and wife Dmitri Smirnov and Elena Firsova, very well-established and respected, each have a long list of operas, concertos, songs, solo instrumental and chamber music. They were born in Russia. They met and fell in love while studying at the Moscow Conservatoire. Smirnov and Firsova’s music was heard at unofficial concerts outside the USSR, free of the control and permission of the Union of Soviet Composers. The denunciation in 1979 led to severely restricted opportunities for both. Like many of their fellow free-thinking composers, they made the difficult decision to leave Russia. They moved to England in 1991 and settled in St Albans, north of London. This engaging, atmospheric recording has been a pleasure to review. The first two pieces are from Smirnov’s pen. Abel is one of the first works he wrote after the move to England. He was fascinated by William Blake, and translated most of his poems into Russian to critical acclaim. The notes tell us that “Blake’s picture presents a disturbing, ambiguous image of the anguished Cain appearing to flee from the dark, open grave of Abel, the brother he has just slain”. Smirnov himself wrote: “Four figures of Blake’s highly expressive tempera drawing The body of Abel found by Adam and Eve (c. 1826, now in the Tate Gallery) correspond to the four instruments: Abel – clarinet, Eve – violin, Adam – cello, and Cain – piano. Each of them is given a unique motif, enabling me to attempt to grasp the spirit of the picture in musical sounds and shapes.” The work is at first slow and eerie; the clarinet leads. The music then becomes more disjointed before returning to the clarinet’s mournful, slow motif, gentle and rueful. The violin now picks up the lead with an equally sad melody. The pace quickens before the piano enters with a menacing repetition of notes; the mood becomes frantic as the clarinet joins in the turmoil. The piece slowly fades away, leaving a sense of uncertainty, maybe to suggest that the terrible act is frozen in time. The starting point of Smirnov’s to be or not to be, one of his last works, is perhaps unsurprisingly Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Dedicated to Christine Prynn and the Rudersdal Chamber Players, it includes musical references to Messiaen’s Quartet for the End of Time. Smirnov wrote: “This is quite a special work for me, because I have never used before a piece of literature in music in a such unusual way. Moreover I have not heard about any work of any compo¬ser that would be written in a similar way (probably except the finale of the last of Beethoven quartets where the words Muss es Sein? Es muss sein! were encrypted).” The viola takes the lead in this bleak piece. The music does not soothe. It seems designed to evoke anxiety and turmoil. In that, it succeeds: it reflects the theme of murder in a family and Hamet’s feelings that we see played out. The reference to Messiaen’s work can be heard from the start. We are presented with barely heard menacing piano music, played over by the dominant viola with a melody which is at times turbulent and at others soothing. This mood lasts several minutes before the conversation between all instruments becomes more troubled, creating a sense of the macabre. Smirnov’s both pieces induce a feeling of unease. Firsova’s Piano Quartet No.2 Four Seasons comes next. The notes say: “The four movements are a description of the English seasons starting from a mild Winter, a beautiful Spring, a short Summer and a rather sad Autumn.” Winter begins slowly and melodiously before becoming angular and restless. In the last section, the movement returns to the peace that we heard at the beginning. Spring again starts with a slow melody, followed by a more energetic middle section before the movement, featuring mainly the piano, regains its calm and almost fades away. Summer, the shortest movement, is more energetic than the others. In Autumn, the piano and the strings begin with a gentle melody that slowly grows in intensity. The string introduce another simple melody which again becomes intense and urgent. The music slows but the strings remain compelling and harsh until the end. Firsova write the Quartet for the Time of Grief after her hus¬band’s death in April 2020, an early victim of the Covid pandemic. To quote the notes again: “Reflecting both the title and instrumentation of Messiaen’s Quatuor pour la Fin du Temps, scored for clarinet, violin, cello and piano, Firsova’s work features the same distinctive, throbbing, repeating dotted rhythms borrowed from Messiaen and also found in her late husband’s to be or not to be…” The piece starts with a gentle melody on the clarinet, which becomes more animated as the other instruments join in. We then return to moments of calm, mournful music interspersed with more dramatic sections. A slowly repeating motif in the final few moments suggests peace and acceptance. The excellent notes – with much information about the composers and their lives – have been most helpful in writing this review. The brochure adds to the pleasure to be gained from this recording. I have thoroughly enjoyed it, and I learned a little new about two composers. I have been particularly impressed by Smirnov’s works. This release is well worth a listen. Ken Talbot