# Shostakovich - String Quartet 5 op.92 (SQ review)



## Merl (Jul 28, 2016)

Recommended

Eder
Emerson
Danel
Rubio
Debussy
Mandelring
St Petersburg (Hyperion)
Borodin (Chandos / Decca)

*Even Better

Brodsky 2 (Chandos) * - much better than their first quite awful account. Expressive and articulately played focusing on tone more than gutteral wallop but still an impressive recording.
*Pacifica* - wonderful ensemble playing and I love their command of tempo but the Pacificas need a little more power, even if they judge the performance perfectly.
*Rasumowsky* - I found this a quite intense and searching performance with nice phrasing and dynamics and a recorded sound that impresses greatly, courtesy of the reliable OEHMS engineers.
*Borodin (Melodiya)* - intensity is superb (immense actually) on Melodiya but the recorded sound is wayward and some of those high violin notes make me wince which knocks it down for me. With top sound this would be at the top but I can't ignore it.
*Shostakovich* - quite a full but expressive and searching approach. Slightly more balanced than the Borodins but without those painful, ear-splitting violins.
*St Petersburg (Sony)* - not as well recorded as their Hyperion disc but a lot quicker and a much more vital account.
*Alexander* - slower but very well played recording with plenty of strength and lots of depth in the recording. Classy.
*Nous* - a recent addition, this well-recorded, cohesive recording may not have the bite of the Artemis, for example, but it says something new and in a way that's very easy to like.
*Dudok* - there are elements of this 2022 recording I really like but there's times that the very close up recording limits the amount of air around the quartet and smothers their sound. Still a fine effort.

*Woah yes!

Acies* - wow, this a recording with depth! Coarser and rougher-hewn than those below but the earthy sound really helps this one make an impact and the Acies play with utter commitment.
*Manhattan* - this one came out of the blue but it's just one of those recordings where everything seems to come together so well (fluid, well-judged performance in nice sound). A very pleasant surprise from a quartet who have not often impressed me in the past.
*Fitzwilliam* - a nice balance and a very fine recording that is more on the lyrical side. Ensemble is just terrific and they sound especially fine in the last movement.
Sorrel - as with the Fitzwilliams it's the balance that works here. It may be a more relaxed approach but their tone is ravishing and the wide recording work wonders.

*Top pick

Artemis* - utterly magical and intense in the opening movement the Artemis Quartet move through the gears throughout and just when you think they've calmed they ramp it up again in the 3rd. I adored this but it's a quartet that definitely plays to the Artemis' strengths. What the Borodins might have sounded like with terrific sound.


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## StevehamNY (Aug 11, 2018)

"What the Borodins might have sounded like with terrific sound." 

Yeah, that's about the perfect sales job right there. 

Do you feel that the rest of the DSCH quartets also play to their strengths, or just this one specifically? (Okay, never mind. I just checked and confirmed that they only have the one recording, with 5, 7, and the quintet. Like damn!)


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## Merl (Jul 28, 2016)

I wish the Artemis Quartet would do a full Shostakovich cycle. Their usual style and sound play to the strengths of these quartets


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