Shostakovich: The String Quartets Brodsky Quartet

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CD

  • Release Date: 04/18/2006
  • Original Release: 1990
  • 6 Disc Set
  • Label: WARNER CLASSICS
  • UPC: 825646086726

Listener Rating: (1 ratings)

Detailed Rating: "Definitiveness" See All

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Track List
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Shostakovich: The String Quartets

Disc 1
1LISTENString Quartet No. 1 in C
2LISTENString Quartet No. 1 in C
3LISTENString Quartet No. 1 in C
4LISTENString Quartet No. 1 in C
5LISTENString Quartet No. 2 in A
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Disc 2
1LISTENString Quartet No. 3 in F
2LISTENString Quartet No. 3 in F
3LISTENString Quartet No. 3 in F
4LISTENString Quartet No. 3 in F
5LISTENString Quartet No. 3 in F
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Disc 3
1LISTENString Quartet No. 5 in B
2LISTENString Quartet No. 5 in B
3LISTENString Quartet No. 5 in B
4LISTENString Quartet No. 6 in G
5LISTENString Quartet No. 6 in G
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Disc 4
1LISTENString Quartet No. 8 in C
2LISTENString Quartet No. 8 in C
3LISTENString Quartet No. 8 in C
4LISTENString Quartet No. 8 in C
5LISTENString Quartet No. 8 in C
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Editorial Reviews

If Shostakovich was hip, if Shostakovich was cool, if Shostakovich was edgy, then this set of his string quartets by England’s Brodsky Quartet would be by far the best set of the works ever recorded. If his First Quartet was wry, if his Fourth Quartet was ironic, if his Seventh Quartet was brittle, if his Ninth Quartet was chilly, if his Twelfth Quartet was sarcastic, if his Fifteenth Quartet was in any manner, shape or form objective, then the Brodsky Quartet’s interpretations would be absolutely appropriate. Of course, the Brodsky Quartet is a first-rate group with a tight tone, a hard intonation and an impeccable ensemble, and even when Shostakovich puts the pedal to the metal in the Finale of Twelfth Quartet, they never miss a rhythmic trick. But there’s more going on in Shostakovich than hip and cool and edgy. There’s heart and soul. There’s height and depth. There’s morality and integrity. And while no one would say the Brodsky lack those qualities, few would assert that those qualities are enough in evidence here. For Shostakovich Quartet performances that get it, try the Borodin or the Taneyev or the Beethoven or even the Shostakovich Quartets’ recordings of the works. For brilliantly post-modernist recordings that are arguably too hip, too cool and too edgy for the music’s own good, try the Brodsky’s. Teldec’s sound is clear but slightly hooded, close but slightly muted, direct but slightly reserved. James Leonard, All Music Guide



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Customer Reviews

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  • Ratings: 1Reviews: 1

Very Recommendable Set of the Shostakovich String Quartetsby Anonymous

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October 18, 2008: This is the second edition (i.e., a repackaging) of a set of recordings made in 1989 and released in 1990. These were the first all-digital recordings of the complete cycle of Shostakovich string quartets. I purchased the first edition of this set in the early 1990s and it has met my requirements so well that I have never seriously felt it necessary to invest in a competing set.

All aspects of the set - playing (technical), playing (interpretative), sound quality, documentation, and price - are up to par, but the real strength of this set, in my opinion, lies in the Brodsky Quartet's supremely astute tempo choices. My favorite quartet in the cycle is No. 5, and the Brodsky Quartet is one of only two ensembles - the other being the Rubio Quartet - that takes more than 10 minutes to play the slow (middle) movement. By doing so, it heightens the movement's emotional impact and reinforces the movement's role as the emotional center of the work. All of the other tempo choices are similarly astute.

On the technical side, the playing is very capable. Intonation flaws, while they exist, are so few and so mild that they do not cause irritation, even upon repeated playback. There is an audible tape edit in the final movement of Quartet No. 1 that I do find slightly irritating, but that is the only technical blemish I can recall as I write this.

The sound quality is very good - clean and clear, realistic, somewhat lacking in warmth (that's a virtue in Shostakovich!), and very consistent, showing the wisdom of doing all of the recording during the year 1989.

The first edition documentation consists of an insightful extended essay in German, translated into English and French; I presume (but cannot verify) that this essay has been reproduced in the second edition.

Lastly, the price is a steal, 42 dollars for 6 discs or 7 dollars per disc.

Overall, I would give this set a raw score of 4.5 stars out of 5 stars and would round that raw score up to 5 stars out of 5 stars (the review software does not allow for half stars).