Hoffmeister: Double Bass Quartets Nos. 2-4

The novelty of Franz Anton Hoffmeister’s double bass quartets lies in his substitution of that husky-voiced instrument for the first violin in a regular string quartet line-up. Seldom heard in such a prominent position the double bass reveals itself as a good humoured and surprisingly expressive vehicle for Hoffmeister’s amiably melodic writing. It also gives an especially haunting melancholic quality to Schubert’s much-loved Arpeggione Sonata, not merely in the beautiful Adagio but also in the more agile outer movements.

"Franz Anton Hoffmeister (1754-1812) was a quite prolific classical composer whose music has only been intermittently recorded so far. It isn’t particularly serious in mood, but it is well worth exploring. Duka is a remarkable player with a lightness of touch that must have seemed even more remarkable in 1980 when these pieces were recorded.

…I would recommend this disc for the Hoffmeister alone." --American Record Guide, July 2011