The Brisbane-based Orava Quartet has finally released its second album for Deutsche Grammophon, the recording having been postponed due to COVID-19. It has, as they say, been worth the wait.

Where the quartet’s impressive 2018 debut focused on Russian repertoire, namely music for string quartet by Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninov and Shostakovich, this album features works by Czech composer Erwin Schulhoff, Polish composer Wojciech Kilar and Australian composer Luke Howard. The link with the previous release is another string quartet by Shostakovich.

The Oravas – brothers Daniel and Karol Kowalik (violin, cello), David Dalseno (violin) and Thomas Chawner (viola) – note that the album is “a heartfelt tribute to our late mentor, Uzi Wiesel. These works hold a deep significance and meaning to us as they represent some of the most memorable moments of our evolving musical journey.”

The Prague-born Schulhoff (1894–1942) lived in both Prague and Berlin, absorbing styles as diverse as jazz, Dada and various -isms as wide apart as Impressionism and Social Realism. A Soviet citizen, he ended his days in a Bavarian concentration camp, dying of...