We鈥檙e living in a new golden age of string-quartet playing, and the Dudok Quartet of Amsterdam is in its vanguard 鈥� four superb young players who believe chamber music is an act of friendship, and that anything this good deserves to be shared. Never afraid to explore beyond the standard repertoire, today the Dudoks champion Doreen Carwithen鈥檚 windswept Second Quartet of 1950, alongside one of the gentle giants of the 19th-century repertoire: the big-hearted masterpiece that Brahms wrote as a gift for his great friend, the Hungarian violinist Joseph Joachim. With interpreters as imaginative as these, it鈥檒l sound more vibrant than ever in the magnificent surroundings of Liverpool鈥檚 St George鈥檚 Hall.

Image: Dudok Quartet Amsterdam 漏 Marco Borggreve