Colin Matthews Divertimento for Double String Quartet Oboe Quartet No.1 • Triptych Five Concertinos • String Quartet No. 2 Divertimenti Ensemble, Oliver Knussen conductor Brindisi Quartet • Schubert Ensemble Haffner Wind Ensemble NMC D149 Colin Matthews studied music at the Universities of Nottingham, and Sussex, where he also taught, and subsequently worked with Benjamin Britten in Aldeburgh from 1972-6, and with Imogen Holst.   He is currently Composer-in-Association with the Hallé, for whom he has completed his orchestrations of Debussy's 24 Preludes, hailed as 'remarkable achievements' by The Guardian. • Divertimento was commissioned by and dedicated to Peter Pears for the 1982 Aldeburgh Festival. • Colin Matthews is active as administrator of the Holst Foundation, chair of the Britten Estate, and trustee of the Britten-Pears Foundation.   He is also founder and Executive Producer of NMC Recordings. • NMC's Ancora series is devoted to the reissue of important recordings of contemporary British works which have been deleted by other record labels. • The Brindisi Quartet's recording of Matthews' String Quartet No.2 is previously unreleased. • Colin Matthews worked with Benjamin Britten in Aldeburgh in the 1970s. • Colin is currently writing a violin concerto for Leila Josefowicz and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. Colin Matthews       Divertimento for Double String Quartet     19'57   1. Aria capricciosa     7'44   2. Intermezzo     4'08   3. Aria conclusa     8'01       Divertimenti Ensemble - Oliver Knussen, conductor   4. Oboe Quartet No.1     11'03       Divertimenti Ensemble       Melinda Maxwell, oboe   5. Triptych     6'29       Schubert Ensemble       Five Concertinos for Wind Quintet     10'52   6. Quasi improvisando     1'59   7. Moltovivo     1'59   8. Molto meccanico     2'15   9. Calmo     2'47 10. Agitato     1'52       Haffner Wind Ensemble       String Quartet No.2     14'26 11. Presto     4'58 12. Intermezzo 1: Prestissimo     1'23 13. Scherzo & Trio; Vigoroso - Brutale     2'19 14. Interlude: Largo     0'45 15. Intermezzo 2: Chorale: L'istesso tempo     3'17 16. Tempo giusto (Presto)     1'44       Brindisi Quartet       Total timing     63'30       Divertimento, Oboe Quartet No.1 and Triptych have been       transferred from LP in the absence of the original masters. NMC Recordings are distributed in Australia by Rockian Trading, P.O.Box 44, Briar Hill, Vic, 3088, Australia Telephone (03) 9432 4149 ~ Facsimile (03) 9444 6879