The legendary Borodin Quartet released a brand new collection of Shostakovich’s Complete Works for String Quartet – the culmination of a major recording series for Decca Classics which took place throughout their 70th anniversary season.
With over 7 hours of new recordings, the set includes Shostakovich’s String Quartets 1–15 plus a selection of lesser known works by Shostakovich, including the Borodin Quartet’s debut recording of the ‘Unfinished Quartet’ movement Allegretto in E flat major.
Pianist Alexei Lubimov and trumpet player Sergei Nakariakov join the Borodin Quartet for live recordings of Music from the film Podrugi (‘Girlfriends’), while Alexei Volodin completes the line-up for the Piano Quintet in G minor.
No quartet performs Russian repertoire better than the authoritative players of the Borodin Quartet – Shostakovich himself personally supervised the ensemble’s study of each of his quartets and a profound understanding of his music has been passed down through the generations.
Over the decades this illustrious ensemble has become known for its definitive interpretations of the string quartet repertoire as a whole, critics enthusiastically endorsing a world-class standard of musicianship: “There can be no greater experience in chamber music than the Borodin Quartet playing Shostakovich” – The Australian.
The Borodin Quartet are performing on an international tour from September, with Shostakovich featuring strongly in the programmes.
The box set was released on 28 September 2018 and can be found on DECCA Classics here; it can be enjoyed on Spotify here and is also available on all digital platforms here.
