ribonucleic
06-09-2014, 04:02 AM
The generation of Russian performers to which... the original members of the Borodin Quartet belonged were Shostakovich's contemporaries, and their recordings of his major works... define an invaluable performing tradition. ... The Borodin were the first quartet to record a complete cycle of Shostakovich's string quartets, or rather the 13 that had been composed when they made their recordings in the early 1970s. ... these performances remain unequalled on disc. In this first incarnation, with Rostislav Dubinsky as leader, the Borodin was one of the great string quartets of the 20th century, and every one of their accounts of these works is etched with a special intensity and supported by an unshakable technical mastery. The playing is sometimes terrifyingly immediate, but it also has great delicacy and tact when required. Even though the set lacks those final two rarefied quartets, it is still absolutely indispensable. - Andrew Clements, The Guardian
... achieved almost mythical status as the sine qua non for this repertoire... As many performances of the Shostakovich quartets as have come our way, including later versions by the Borodins themselves, listeners still swear by the unassailable authority of the performances with the original members. It is hard not to be impressed by the unanimity of approach, the confidence bordering on boldness, the ease with which they convey not mere familiarity but complete consolidation with the complex, often difficult Shostakovich idiom. ...
What sets the Borodins apart is their uncanny attention to detail, their ability to impart breathing room and nuance to almost every phrase of the music without losing its essential spontaneity, inner tension or architectural solidity. ... Listeners will no doubt find much in these robust and deeply focused performances that they have never heard elsewhere. ... they offer an idiomatic grasp, an intensely absorbing penetration into the music's soul that bears fruit for both listener and future performers. It is one traversal of this cherished canon that must be heard. - Louis Blois, DSCH Journal
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... achieved almost mythical status as the sine qua non for this repertoire... As many performances of the Shostakovich quartets as have come our way, including later versions by the Borodins themselves, listeners still swear by the unassailable authority of the performances with the original members. It is hard not to be impressed by the unanimity of approach, the confidence bordering on boldness, the ease with which they convey not mere familiarity but complete consolidation with the complex, often difficult Shostakovich idiom. ...
What sets the Borodins apart is their uncanny attention to detail, their ability to impart breathing room and nuance to almost every phrase of the music without losing its essential spontaneity, inner tension or architectural solidity. ... Listeners will no doubt find much in these robust and deeply focused performances that they have never heard elsewhere. ... they offer an idiomatic grasp, an intensely absorbing penetration into the music's soul that bears fruit for both listener and future performers. It is one traversal of this cherished canon that must be heard. - Louis Blois, DSCH Journal
Please PM for link.