The Sixth Quartet is in the uncompromising style of the first two, though it's a better work than either of those because it's less self-conscious. In it, dark emotions are dealt with but not banished. I'm sure the Sixth is the most significant Naxos Quartet so far, but to my taste Davies goes wrong when he entrusts a major moment in the argument to the use of what is now a compositional cliché, a recitative for each instrument over chords sustained by the others. The Maggini Quartet plays with deep commitment and complete technical command. The recording is attractive and clear. But with the project half done, it seems ever less likely that the Naxos Quartets will be the 21st century's answer to Bartók, Shostakovich, Britten, or even Rochberg.

--Joseph Stevenson, ClassicsToday.com