Although Australian by birth, Alfred Hill spent much of his youth in New Zealand before embarking on studies in Leipzig, where he met Brahms, Dvořák and Tchaikovsky. A prolific symphonist and operatic composer, he also wrote a sequence of seventeen notable string quartets. His style evolved constantly, the influence of Dvořák leading on to the impressionism of his mid-period. By the time of the String Quartets Nos. 12 to 14 his mastery of technique—in his younger days he had played in a prominent string quartet—ensure that the music is balanced, subtle, and full of playful wit. This is the fifth of six volumes of the complete Alfred Hill String Quartets.