Alexander Glazunov’s seven string quartets extend over the entirety of his composing career and are equal in significance to his symphonies. Fused with nationalist sentiment and Classical discipline the First String Quartet secured the Glinka Prize for the teenage composer in 1884. The advances in expressive range and formal integration in the Second Quartet include a rapturous slow movement considered a highlight of his earlier output, while the Third Quartet has become known as ‘The Slavonic’ for its evocative folk-music character.