Search - Dmitry Shostakovich, Borodin Quartet :: Shostakovich: String Quartets 1-13

A very nice partial cycle

Starry Vere | Silver Lake OH USA | 12/24/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Since there seems to be some confusion as to what these recordings are, let's make a few things clear. This is the Borodin's first stereo go-round of the quartets, recorded for Melodiya in the late 60s and early 70s. It is not the same as the well-known EMI box set which was recorded in the 80s and keeps bouncing in and out of circulation. These performances have never been available on CD before.
Of course the last two quartets didn't exist at the time of these recordings, but they were set down by the slightly reconfigured Borodins soon thereafter and it is too bad those documents have been orphaned as they would have made the most logical compliment to this not quite complete set.
As to the performances themselves, they are classic, comparable to the later EMI versions but heard in a warmer acoustic, which has the effect of making the music seem a little less edgy, too.
One hopes that some of the other masterful cycles of this music by groups such as the Beethoven, Tanayev and Shostakovich Quartets will return to the catalog. The Borodins are great, but not the last or only word on the subject."

5 stars for what is there.

Howard G Brown | Port St. Lucie, FL USA | 03/07/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is an excellent transfer of the recordings I remember from the Seraphim set of the 70's -- and more inclusive, since I believe that set stopped at #11.As suggested in another post, I augmented this set with the Glinka and Beethoven Quartets recordings of #s 14 & 15 on the Praga label -- equally impressive performances; a fine recording.It is hard to choose between this earlier set, and the later set, which includes all the quartets, plus the Quintet with Richter (and a really lumbering account of the scherzo; it could almost be a 'lost' fragment by Bruckner). Frankly, at this level of musicianship and personal identification with the composer, it might be a matter of shelf space! The BMG box is pretty hefty,
enclosing perhaps seven separate jewel cases. This chandos set, plus the Praga of the last two quartets, and a recording of the quintet take up the space of @ 4 1/2 jewel cases. Unfortunately, living in a Manhattan appartment does make one think twice about shelf space. But this is a trivial matter; the performance and recording are what really count. All the more reason to appreciate this current, compact issue of excellent recordings."

A little less of a good thing

Starry Vere | Silver Lake OH USA | 10/27/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The Borodin Quartet made their first Shostakovich cycle for Melodiya in 1967-71. Soon after the 14th and 15th quartets were written in 1973 and 74, they were recorded, too, but never integrated into any of the incarnations of this set, last seen in the US on Angel's budget Melodiya/Seraphim label. It is a shame they could not have been included here.

The performances are comparable to the 1980s Melodiya traversal now available on EMI, which is to say they are pretty great though perhaps a shade less intense, an impression abetted by the sound, which is warmer and more spacious than in the later set. But, of course, that one gives you all 15 Quartets and the Piano Quintet with Richter."