Customer Reviews

Dmitri Shostakovich: The String Quartets [Box Set]

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Buying the Shostakovich quartets can be tricky. Of the four sets I've had, this one by the Brodsky Quartet is the one I've kept, (along with the Borodin cycle) as a reference to these stellar works. The Brodskys play with precision and passion. Tempi choices are spot-on, unlike the Emerson's new recording, which are plain too fast. The acoustic is detailed, yet with appropiate warmth. A great set. I wish I had tried it first before buying the Fitzwilliam and Emerson sets. I could have saved myself a lot of money and frustration. After all is said and done, I'm glad to have it. It's essential music.

This was the first set I picked up; later I got the 2nd Borodin and the Emerson sets. This one is my favorite.

I like this quartet's tempos, which emphasize the drama of the music, and I like the Brodsky's taught rhythmic feel (when the staccatos need to be razor sharp, they are).

The blend of the instruments is also really nice (both in terms of the group's dynamics and in terms of the sound engineering, which adds just enough reverb to the mix). While a Stereophile magazine review called this set "slick," I don't really hear it that way. I would call the playing sometimes stark, often gutsy, with plenty of beauty, humor and sarcasm(where appropriate).

I'm not trying to argue that this set is definitive, or that other well-reviewed sets get it wrong. I like the Fitzwilliam Quartets set almost as much. But I've seen very little mention of this Brodsky set, favorably or otherwise, in Shostakovich-cycle comparisons, and I've gotten a great deal of enjoyment from it. I rarely play my versions by the Borodin and Emerson Quartets.

The price on this set has been all over the map, but currently it can be had from Marketplace sellers for a steal.

Not many recordings of this quality out there. Good CD quality as well...

This is a string quartet that has made itself famous by wearing designer clothes on stage instead of the traditional concert outfits. And that's about all they have going for them. The tempi are generally slow, the color is generally plain and bland and unchanging, the recording quality is fairly dry - in short, there's not much of a reason to buy this CD set, especially when you take into account the price that frequently varies, but is almost always about twice the cost of the Fitzwilliam quartet, certainly one of the finest groups to record the Shostakovich quartets. Also check out the Borodin and St. Petersburg Quartet recordings for some really thick, Russian interpretations, or grab Emerson for a fiery live sound.
This one just isn't worth it.