4cds, FLAC per track, covers

Shostakovich Quartets 1-13 Borodin Quartet original lineup


random amazon review:
From Fanfare Magazine (US) Sept/Oct 2003 Art Lange

"Be careful, they say, what you wish for--you might get it. Well, this is an occasion when I am most grateful I asked. Back in Fanfare 25:5, reviewing a disc of Shostakovich string quartets by the Sorrel Quartet, I mentioned that to my knowledge the incomplete cycle of quartets recorded by the original Borodin Quartet (1953-74) had not been released on CD. (Issued in Russia on Melodiya LPs, quartets 1-11 were available for years here in two budget-priced Seraphim boxes, which is how I came to first, hear, own, and appreciate this music.) Now, only a year later, here it is, with the valuable addition of numbers 12 and 13. Violinists Rostislav Dubinsky and Yaroslav Alexandrov left the group before they could record Shostakovich's then-recent, final two quartets; however, the "new" Borodin Quartet, with violinists Mikhail Kopelman and Andrei Abramenkov, did record all 15 quartets (available on EMI) as well as several individual subsequent remakes. The sound of these "historical" (as Chandos designates them) recordings is primarily fine, with some ever-so-slight constriction at a very few climaxes, and just a trace of analog tape background hiss here and there--but nothing to get in the way of the listening experience. And I'm pleased to report that these performances are even better than I remember from my distant, hazy vinyl past--in fact they are among the very best currently available.
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