Widely regarded as one of the great chamber ensembles of the world, in 2001 the Alban Berg Quartet celebrates 30 years of glorious music-making. Their repertoire in this anniversary season was specially chosen to reflect the Quartet’s personal favourites, and ranges from Haydn to Lutoslawski. The celebrations include a birthday CD issue from EMI and a performance of Beethoven’s Op. 132 in the Royal Festival Hall. “It seems that Bartok’s Sixth Quartet could have been written for these players; they made short work of its considerable technical demands, cutting through them to its unsettling heart...Schubert’s Quintet is often thought of as comfortable; this performance though, was something of a revelation.” (Guardian, February 2001)