# Shostakovich String Quartet Cycle- Recommendations?



## DTut

I have a hodge podge of various DSCH SQs by various artists. My favorite is one a CD by the Coull Quartet which contains the phenomenal 8th; the 4th; and the interesting 11th. 

I'd like to consolidate and have one box set with great sound (like the Coull CD) and with vigorous interpretations (subjective, of course:lol 

Any strong opinions out there? Thank You!


----------



## DTut

Just a found the same thread back in April! ..never mind..


----------



## Selby

Fitzwilliam, hands down.


----------



## Johnnie Burgess

Selby said:


> Fitzwilliam, hands down.


They did a great cycle of his String quartets. I think it helped they knew him.


----------



## EdwardBast

The Borodin Quartet, the early incarnation, by several miles over anyone else: Kopelman, Abramenkov, Shebalin and Belinsky. They knew the composer and played for him on numerous occasions.


----------



## Johnnie Burgess

EdwardBast said:


> The Borodin Quartet, the early incarnation, by several miles over anyone else: Kopelman, Abramenkov, Shebalin and Belinsky. They knew the composer and played for him on numerous occasions.


They are good also.


----------



## Klavierspieler

I have Emerson. Seems legit.


----------



## Pugg

Selby said:


> Fitzwilliam, hands down.


Not everybody's cup of tea, nevertheless I am in.


----------



## KenOC

I have the Fitzwilliams, both the earlier and later Borodins, the Quattour Danel, the Pacifica, and the Alexanders. Mostly these days I reach for the Pacifica set for its strong performances and great sound. The recordings include several quartets by DSCH's contemporaries, which are quite interesting themselves. The CDs, recently issued as a boxed set, are pretty reasonable.


----------



## starthrower

^^^
That's a nice set for very little money. If I only had time to listen to it. I need recordings of some of the other symphonies too.


----------



## Johnnie Burgess

KenOC said:


> I have the Fitzwilliams, both the earlier and later Borodins, the Quattour Danel, the Pacifica, and the Alexanders. Mostly these days I reach for the Pacifica set for its strong performances and great sound. The recordings include several quartets by DSCH's contemporaries, which are quite interesting themselves. The CDs, recently issued as a boxed set, are pretty reasonable.


CD Universe has a great deal on this set sold as mp3.


----------



## Guest

For me, no set that I've heard matches this one's ferocity, pain, or tenderness as needed. (I just sampled the Pacifica's 10th Quartet 2nd movement...pales in comparison--seriously lacking the "furioso" marking.)


----------



## Merl

I'll be honest, I've not heard any complete sets of the string quartets, apart from the one I own and few other cd performances (one of which is a double cd of the first 4 with the Pacificas). I was lucky and picked the Rubio box, on Brilliant, up for a couple of quid a few years back and they're really good, solid performances. I will have to listen to others though. From what I know of the first four Pacifica performances I'd definitely invest in that set too. The Rubio is certainly very good though.


----------



## worov




----------



## Reichstag aus LICHT

There are many fine recordings out there, but mine's another strong vote for the Pacifica Quartet. Their set is simply outstanding.


----------



## Guest

worov said:


>


You are lucky to own it--very hard to find! If anyone know of a reasonably priced one, please let me know!


----------



## Guest

Has anyone heard the Mandelring's set? I hadn't listened to it in a while, and it's very good. They don't really yield that much intensity to the Borodin SQ, and they are much better recorded. One reviewer said they play with great intensity without sacrificing musicality, and they have a huge range of emotional responses. That's a fair assessment. For some reason, the complete box set consists of standard CDs, but the individual ones are SACDs. I have the individual releases.


----------



## TxllxT

I've got all Borodin quartet recordings + Fitzwilliam + Mandelring. For listening to Shostakovich I choose the Borodins, for listening to gorgeous deep cello sound I choose Fitzwilliam and for the perfect overall recording quality I listen to Mandelring. Depends on my hunger, which one will be played.


----------



## Guest

Another vote for Borodin, but remember that they only recorded quartets 1-13 as the other two did not exist yet at the time of recording.


----------



## EdwardBast

Leman said:


> Another vote for Borodin, but remember that they only recorded quartets 1-13 as the other two did not exist yet at the time of recording.


Since the recording of the first 13, the original lineup of the Borodin finished the set by recording 14 and 15 in 1978. The whole set of 15 was subsequently issued by Melodiya and it is still available.


----------



## hpowders

The Emerson Quartet, Borodin Quartet and Pacifica Quartet.


----------



## Vinyl

I have a recording of the fourth quartet by the Swedish Saulescokvartetten, and it is very very good. Don't know if they did more from Shostakovich.


----------



## Omicron9

My favorites:

1. Borodin Qt. Fiery performance and yet imbued with great sensitivity.
2. Emerson. Very solid performances and excellent recording quality.


----------



## staxomega

EdwardBast said:


> Since the recording of the first 13, the original lineup of the Borodin finished the set by recording 14 and 15 in 1978. The whole set of 15 was subsequently issued by Melodiya and it is still available.


Can you link or post an image to which one this is?

The only two Melodiya releases I know are of the second lineup.


----------



## Enthusiast

Yes, the Borodins' set is the one to get.


----------



## EdwardBast

staxomega said:


> Can you link or post an image to which one this is?
> 
> The only two Melodiya releases I know are of the second lineup.











I got it wrong in my earlier post. The early Borodin's recorded the first 13 ^ ^ ^. It's currently selling for $22US on Amazon.

The complete version by the later Borodin's, the images you posted, are great too. I'd choose those above anyone else too.


----------



## staxomega

EdwardBast said:


> View attachment 128316
> 
> 
> I got it wrong in my earlier post. The early Borodin's recorded the first 13 ^ ^ ^. It's currently selling for $22US on Amazon.
> 
> The complete version by the later Borodin's, the images you posted, are great too. I'd choose those above anyone else too.


Yeah I have Chandos release. It sounds like they used vinyl sources which is why I was hoping there was a Melodiya one because Melodiya would have the original analog master tapes.

I really like that first cycle which is why I was hoping there was a Melodiya release in better sound.

I have the yellow cover version of the second lineup and it sounds really good, but the original two violinists have better intonation.

*Edit*: while I think that Borodin's first cycle is the greatest realization of these works I can enjoy more modern quartets in them as well like Quatuor Danel.


----------

