Paul Stanhope has attracted significant attention over the last decade or so for large scale works, such as Jandamarra – Sing for the Country and his award-winning Trombone Concerto. Meanwhile, he has been steadily producing a distinguished body of chamber music. His three string quartets epitomise his craft, sharp, polished and beautifully thought through, they deserve to be more widely played (and heard). Hopefully these splendid performances by the Australian String Quartet will do just that.

The First Quartet, written in 2007 but revised over the following three years, is subtitled “Elegies and Dances”, which pretty much sums it up. Cast in a single 10-minute span, it juxtaposes a series of ominous, drooping passages with up-tempo rhythmic episodes that run the emotional gamut from sardonic humour to breathless elation. This is tangy, brittle music that teases the ear and engages the mind, and the ASQ’s trademark precision hones its prickly edges with the remorseless determination of a whetstone.

The Second Quartet won an Art Music Award in 2011 following Musica Viva Australia performances by the Pavel Haas Quartet. The work,...