Decca/London and to be fair other big classical labels have a bad habit of reissuing the same recordings in different packaging over and over. Yet lying in their vaults are some real classics that have not seen the light of day for some 30 or so years. This set of Bloch's first four quartets by the Griller Quartet is one of them. Bloch's quartets are intricately detailed often rock solid works that have confounded even the best of players. The 1st quartet is on a Mahlerian scale lasting nearly an hour. The Griller Quartet sort of adopted Bloch as one of their own and formed a close artistic and personal relationship with the composer who whole heartedly approved their interpretations.
The recordings are mono from the mid 1950's but have no worry. This is vinatge Decca with very full bodied sound and clarity. The Griller Quartet never got around to recording the 5th Quartet before disbanding but the quality of these performances of the first 4 more than make up for that. Decca has made things even more attractive by pricing the set at mid price.