"... the Dukes created a concentrated and sumptuous bed of sound, stunningly balanced and evocative of hazy beating heat. ...Beethoven's op 95 Quartet, launched with such feverish passion that second violinist Rick Koster had to press his spare E string into service.....a gloriously taut and fresh performance. As a counterbalance to their intoxicating vigour, the players' insight into the work's pacing was beyond scrutiny." - The Strad
"This performance is as good as you'll ever hear, thanks to its combination of emotional warmth with bombproof accuracy of tuning; the outstanding playing of the Duke Quartet's leader, Louisa Fuller, leads from the front in both departments. The appalling difficulties of Berg's Lyric Suite are unravelled in the same impressive style, with the players brilliantly solving the conundrum of how to make all those intricate written-out nuances of tempo, phrasing and articulation sound spontaneous...a wonderful disc." - Classic CD
"...a powerful, well-shaped performance in its own right, one to stand comparison with the classic Juilliard...the Duke Quartet brings just the right degree of fantasy and desperation to this volatile music, together with emotional warmth and technical finesse." - BBC Music Magazine
"The Duke Quartet plays it (Berg's Lyric Suite) like the classic it now is... Superb playing... an excellent disc." - The Sunday Times
"[Of Schnittke's second quartet] The Duke have the measure of this profound and, at times, grief-stricken lament of extraordinary intensity...... They gave a highly idiomatic and strongly felt account, the stormy agitato providing the emotional core of their splendidly scaled performance..
(Of Tchaikovsky's first quartet) The Duke's performance displays an appropriate blend of sensitivity, refinement, intensity and passion.....much of the testing passage work is played with stunning accuracy and vehemence." - The Strad
"Ravishing tone captured the bittersweet overtones of Schubert's Death and the Maiden superbly, and even in the most impassioned sections, intonation discipline and a concern for refined sonorities were never sacrificed. The clarity of the interplay of the instrumental strands and a rhythmic urgency were additional features of this wonderful performance. The stark poignancy of the slow movement variations was especially memorable. A long acquaintance with this quartet, in a large number of reputable counts, convinces one that it is a work difficult to bring off as an integrated whole. That the Duke Quartet achieved this in proclaiming the work's greatness is a measure of their outstanding musicality." - The Yorkshire Post