Without any trace of folklorism, and with no sense of restrictive constraint, this Madrid composer has nonetheless rooted himself in the dance music of Andalusia, feeding on the heady rhythms of the bulería in Quartets nos. 3 and 4 – in the latter work he also probes into Beethoven’s Op.131 Quartet.

Sotelo embodies the cante jondo in a slow-moving ritual (Quartet no.2), deploys subtle percussive effects (in Quartets nos. 1 and 2) and adapts traditional thematic and rhythmic material (see Quartet no.1, which additionally references Luigi Nono and the philosopher poet Giordano Bruno).

These quartets continually reflect the alter flamenco or ‘spectral flamenco’ which is Sotelo’s hallmark. He defines himself as a “contemporary composer using the voice of the cantaor flamenco,” and with their fiery interpretations the string players of the Quatuor Diotima certainly set his music aflame.