Shostakovich: String Quartets Nos.1, 8 & 14 Borodin Quartet

• Dmitri Schostakowitsch (1906-1975): String Quartet No.1 in C major, op.49 ut majeur · C-Dur:
• 11. Moderato04:28
• 22. Moderato04:35
• 33. Allegro molto02:05
• 44. Allegro03:09
• String Quartet No.8 in C minor, op.110 ut mineur · c-Moll:
• 51. Largo05:37
• 62. Allegro molto02:53
• 73. Allegretto04:36
• 84. Largo06:50
• 95. Largo04:28
• String Quartet No.14 in F sharp major, op.142 fa dièse majeur · Fis-Dur:
• 101. Allegretto09:08
• 112. Adagio10:52
• 123. Allegretto09:54
• Two Pieces for String Quartet, op.36a:
• 131. Elegy04:38
• 142. Polka02:40
• Total Runtime01:15:53

Info for Shostakovich: String Quartets Nos.1, 8 & 14

The original Borodin Quartet was founded in 1945 in the Soviet Union and this release marks the Quartet’s 70th anniversary. They enjoyed a close relationship with Shostakovich, and often worked with him as a new quartet was written (and they also recorded the cycle).

Now, a new line-up, though still one that bears the characteristic Borodin sound (large, almost symphonic in scope and with a very distinctive way of phrasing), starts a new cycle with works from very different periods in Shostakovich’s music life [No. 1 from 1938, the ever-popular No. 8 from 1960 and No. 14 from 1972 (begun in Aldeburgh when the composer was staying there with Benjamin Britten)]. This album features the three key quartets, including the most popular (No. 8).

Borodin String Quartet

Borodin String Quartet
For more than sixty-five years, the Borodin Quartet has been celebrated for its insight and authority in the chamber music repertoire. Revered for its searching performances of Beethoven and Shostakovich, the Quartet is equally at home in music ranging from Mozart to Stravinsky.

The Borodin Quartet’s particular affinity with Russian repertoire was stimulated by a close relationship with Shostakovich, who personally supervised its study of each of his quartets. Widely regarded as definitive interpretations, the Quartet’s cycles of the complete Shostakovich quartets have been performed all over the world, including Vienna, Zurich, Frankfurt, Madrid, Lisbon, Seville, London, Paris and New York. In recent seasons the ensemble has returned to a broader repertoire, including works by Schubert, Prokofiev, Borodin and Tchaikovsky, while continuing to be welcomed and acclaimed at major venues throughout the world.

The Borodin Quartet was formed in 1945 by four students from the Moscow Conservatory. Ten years later, it changed its name from the Moscow Philharmonic Quartet to the Borodin Quartet. The current members of the Quartet are Ruben Aharonian, Sergey Lomovsky, Igor Naidin and Vladimir Balshin.

In addition to performing quartets, the members of the Borodin Quartet regularly join forces with other distinguished musicians to further explore the chamber music repertoire. Their partners have included Boris Berezovsky, Yuri Bashmet, Christoph Eschenbach, Elisabeth Leonskaja, Andras Schiff, Michael Collins, Menahem Pressler, Nikolai Lugansky, Sabina Meyer, Mario Brunello and Ludmila Berlinskaya. The Quartet also regularly gives master-classes.

The Borodin Quartet will be celebrating their 70th anniversary in 2015. Their anniversary sees them perform all over the world with dates in Moscow, Rotterdam, Tokyo, Istanbul, Montreal, Vancouver, St. Petersburg, Amsterdam, Warsaw, London, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, Berlin and Vienna to name a few. They will play the Quartet’s milestone works by Brahms, Beethoven, Schubert, Tchaikovsky, Shostakovich – and of course Borodin.

The Quartet’s first release on the Onyx label, featuring Borodin, Schubert, Webern and Rachmaninov, was nominated for a Grammy in the 2005 “Best Chamber Performance” category. The Borodin Quartet has produced a rich heritage of recordings over several decades, for labels including EMI, RCA Virgin Classics and Teldec.

The CD label Chandos recorded and released the complete Beethoven quartets as part of the sixtieth anniversary celebration.

Booklet for Shostakovich: String Quartets Nos.1, 8 & 14