Search - Dmitry Shostakovich, Beethoven Quartet, DMITRI TZIGANOV :: Shostakovich: The 15 String Quartets

Dmitry Shostakovich, Beethoven Quartet, DMITRI TZIGANOV
Shostakovich: The 15 String Quartets
Genre: Classical

Track Listings (13) - Disc #1
1. I. Moderato
2. II. Moderato
3. III. Allegro Molto
4. IV. Allegro
5. I. Moderato Con Moto
6. II. Recitative & Romance: Adagio
7. III. Waltz: Allegro
8. IV. Theme & Variations
9. I. Allegretto
10. II. Moderato Con Moto
11. III. Allegro Non Troppo
12. IV. Adagio
13. V. Moderato
Track Listings (11) - Disc #2
1. I. Allegretto
2. II. Andantino Allegretto
3. III. Allegretto
4. IV. Allegretto
5. I. Allegro Non Troppo
6. II. Andante
7. III. Moderato
8. I. Allegretto
9. II. Moderato Con Moto
10. III. Lento
11. IV. Lento, Allegretto
Track Listings (17) - Disc #3
1. I. Allegretto
2. II. Lento
3. III. Allegro, Allegretto
4. I. Largo
5. II. Allegro Molto
6. III. Allegretto
7. IV. Largo
8. V. Largo
9. I. Moderato Con Moto
10. II. Adagio
11. III. Allegretto
12. IV. Adagio
13. V. Allegro
14. I. Andante
15. II. Allegretto Furioso
16. III. Adagio
17. IV. Allegretto
Track Listings (12) - Disc #4
1. I. Introduction: Andantino
2. II. Scherzo: Allegretto
3. III. Recitative: Adagio
4. IV. Etude: Allegro
5. V. Humoreske: Allegro
6. VI. Elegy: Adagio
7. VII. Conclusion: Moderato
8. I. Moderato, Allegretto
9. II. Allegretto
10. Adagio
11. Two Pieces (Prelude & Scherzo) For String Octet
12. I. Allegretto
Track Listings (9) - Disc #5
1. II. Adagio
2. II. Adagio
3. III. Allegretto
4. I. Elegy: Adagio
5. II. Serenade: Adagio
6. III. Intermezzo: Adagio
7. IV. Nocturne: Adagio
8. V. Funeral March: Adagio Molto
9. VI. Epilog: Adagio

CD Details

All Artists: Dmitry Shostakovich, Beethoven Quartet, DMITRI TZIGANOV, Komitas Quartet
Title: Shostakovich: The 15 String Quartets
Members Wishing: 1
Total Copies: 0
Label: Doremi Records
Original Release Date: 1/1/2006
Re-Release Date: 11/14/2006
Album Type: Box set
Genre: Classical
Styles: Chamber Music, Historical Periods, Classical (c.1770-1830)
Number of Discs: 1
SwapaCD Credits: 1
UPC: 723721249755

Synopsis

Album Description

"[The Beethoven Quartet's] view of this cycle carries special authority. Collectors who were lucky enough to get the old Melodiya LPs from the 1950s and 1960s, and who still treasure them, will welcome their reappearance ... no other group was closer to Shostakovich's mind." - PENGUIN GUIDE TO COMPACT DISCS A priceless treasury of the complete string quartets of Shostakovich recorded in the early 1960s by the legendary Beethoven String Quartet, with a bonus of the Two Pieces played by the Comitas Quartet. Although Shostakovich had been acquainted with the members of the Beethoven Quartet since 1925, their professional relationship blossomed in 1938. In this year, the composer attended the Beethoven Quartet's extremely successful Moscow premiere performance of his first string quartet. Shostakovich would go on to dedicate many of his works to the Quartet as a whole or as individuals. Quartets number three and five were dedicated to the quartet, while quartets number eleven through fourteen honored specific members of the Quartet. The Beethoven String Quartet premiered all but two of the fifteen Shostakovich quartets. Only a few chamber ensembles have managed to exist so long and, moreover, to preserve their artistic originality as the Comitas Quartet, which recently celebrated eighty years of continuous activity. Though the Comitas Quartet naturally consisted of different musicians throughout the years of its history, their performances were always marked by a high caliber of professionalism and sense of tact. DOREMI's restoration process is a very special one, as your ears will confirm. The utmost care is taken in lovingly reprocessing only the most significant and truly treasurable historic recordings.

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CD Reviews

Unique And Essential Shostakovich

Howard G Brown | Port St. Lucie, FL USA | 07/30/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I have long prized the Vanguard lps I bought around 1960, recordings of the first five Shostakovich String Quartets and the Piano Quintet. The Komitas Quartet was featured on the 1st Quartet, the Tchaikovsky Quartet on Nos. 3 and 4, and the Beethoven Quartet on Nos. 2 and 5 and the Quintet, with Shostakovich at the piano.

This set likely contains those early performances of Nos. 2 and 5; I have never heard another performance to equal them in a unique blend of brute force, abject tenderness, and a kind of fierce stoicism. This holds true for all the quartets heard here, and the depth of feeling coupled with exemplary technique (to my ears) surpasses even the Borodin Quartet's original recordings of Quartets 1 - 13, reissued on Chandos.

The Borodin set is blessed with better sound, but what I hear on these discs is far better than what was available on the Vanguard lps, which I still own. Only those who demand the latest, digital recordings should pass on this set. The Quintet is still available on a Vanguard CD, coupled with the 2nd Quartet. If you can't afford this set, at least get that. I recently copied my lp to CD; I treasure that Quintet recording.

The notes are mainly concerned with the Beethoven Quartet's relationship with the composer. I am certain that Quartets 2 through 5 are monophonic recordings (the notes say nothing about recording dates, but they likely correspond to the date of the premieres from about 1956 on) and I am fairly sure the recording of No. 15 is the same that appears on Praga Pr254043, coupled with No.14 performed by the Glinka Quartet. That is an excellent supplement to the Borodin set on Chandos, by the way.

I recommend this to all who care about this music, and the quartet that premiered it.

"