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| Complete String Quartets | 
 enlarge | Artists: Dmitry Shostakovich, Emerson String Quartet
Label: Deutsche Grammophon
Category: Music
List Price: $84.98
Buy New: $58.95
You Save: $26.03 (31%)
Buy New/Used from $29.99
Avg. Customer Rating:  (19 reviews)
Sales Rank: 151044
Format: Box Set
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 5
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 5.7 x 4.7 x 1
MPN: 463284
UPC: 028946328422
EAN: 0028946328422
ASIN: B00003XAGO
Release Date: January 11, 2000
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Tracks:
Disc 1
| • | Quartet No. 1 In C Major Op. 49: 1. Moderato | | • | Quartet No. 1 In C Major Op. 49: 2. Moderato | | • | Quartet No. 1 In C Major Op. 49: 3. Allegro molto | | • | Quartet No. 1 In C Major Op. 49: 4. Allegro | | • | Quartet No. 2 In A Major Op. 68: 1. Overture: Moderato con moto | | • | Quartet No. 2 In A Major Op. 68: 2. Recitative And Romance: Adagio | | • | Quartet No. 2 In A Major Op. 68: 3. Waltz: Allegro | | • | Quartet No. 2 In A Major Op. 68: 4. Theme With Variations: Adagio - Moderato con moto - Allegretto - Piu mosso - Allegro non troppo - Allegro - Adagio | | • | Quartet No. 3 In F Major Op. 73: 1. Allegretto | | • | Quartet No. 3 In F Major Op. 73: 2. Moderato con moto | | • | Quartet No. 3 In F Major Op. 73: 3. Allegro non troppo | | • | Quartet No. 3 In F Major Op. 73: 4. Adagio - attacca: | | • | Quartet No. 3 In F Major Op. 73: 5. Moderato - Adagio |
Disc 2
| • | Quartet No. 4 In D Major Op. 83: 1. Allegretto | | • | Quartet No. 4 In D Major Op. 83: 2. Andante | | • | Quartet No. 4 In D Major Op. 83: 3. Allegretto - attacca: | | • | Quartet No. 4 In D Major Op. 83: 4. Allegretto | | • | Quartet No. 5 In B Flat Major Op. 92: 1. Allegro non troppo - attacca: | | • | Quartet No. 5 In B Flat Major Op. 92: 2. Andante - Andantino - Andante - Andantino - Andante - attacca: | | • | Quartet No. 5 In B Flat Major Op. 92: 3. Moderato - Allegretto - Andante | | • | Quartet No. 6 In G Major Op. 101: 1. Allegretto | | • | Quartet No. 6 In G Major Op. 101: 2. Moderato con moto | | • | Quartet No. 6 In G Major Op. 101: 3. Lento - attacca: | | • | Quartet No. 6 In G Major Op. 101: 4. Lento - Allegretto - Andante - Lento |
Disc 3
| • | Quartet No. 7 In F Sharp Minor Op. 108: 1. Allegretto - attacca: | | • | Quartet No. 7 In F Sharp Minor Op. 108: 2. Lento - attacca: | | • | Quartet No. 7 In F Sharp Minor Op. 108: 3. Allegro - Allegretto - Andante - Lento | | • | Quartet No. 8 In C Minor Op. 110: 1. Largo - attacca: | | • | Quartet No. 8 In C Minor Op. 110: 2. Allegro molto - attacca: | | • | Quartet No. 8 In C Minor Op. 110: 3. Allegretto - attacca: | | • | Quartet No. 8 In C Minor Op. 110: 4. Largo - attacca: | | • | Quartet No. 8 In C Minor Op. 110: 5. Largo | | • | Quartet No. 9 In E Flat Major Op. 117: 1. Moderato con moto - attacca: | | • | Quartet No. 9 In E Flat Major Op. 117: 2. Adagio - attacca: | | • | Quartet No. 9 In E Flat Major Op. 117: 3. Allegretto - attacca: | | • | Quartet No. 9 In E Flat Major Op. 117: 4. Adagio - attacca: | | • | Quartet No. 9 In E Flat Major Op. 117: 5. Allegro | | • | Quartet No. 10 In A Flat Major Op. 118: 1. Andante | | • | Quartet No. 10 In A Flat Major Op. 118: 2. Allegretto furioso | | • | Quartet No. 10 In A Flat Major Op. 118: 3. Adagio - attacca: | | • | Quartet No. 10 In A Flat Major Op. 118: 4. Allegretto - Andante |
Disc 4
| • | 'Lady Macbeth Of The Mtsensk District', Op. 29: Adagio (Elegy) For String Quartet | | • | 'The Age Of Gold', Op. 22: Allegretto (Polka) For String Quartet | | • | Quartet No. 11 In F Minor Op. 122: 1. Introduction: Andantino - attacca: | | • | Quartet No. 11 In F Minor Op. 122: 2. Scherzo: Allegretto - attacca: | | • | Quartet No. 11 In F Minor Op. 122: 3. Recitative: Adagio - attacca: | | • | Quartet No. 11 In F Minor Op. 122: 4. Etude: Allegro - attacca: | | • | Quartet No. 11 In F Minor Op. 122: 5. Humoresque: Allegro - attacca: | | • | Quartet No. 11 In F Minor Op. 122: 6. Elegy: Adagio - attacca: | | • | Quartet No. 11 In F Minor Op. 122: 7. Finale: Moderato - Meno mosso - Moderato | | • | Quartet No. 12 In D Flat Major Op. 133: 1. Moderato - Allegretto - Moderato - Allegretto - Moderato | | • | Quartet No. 12 In D Flat Major Op. 133: 2. Allegretto - Adagio - Moderato - Adagio - Moderato - Allegretto | | • | Quartet No. 13 In B Flat Minor Op. 138: Adagio - Doppio movimento - Tempo primo |
Disc 5
| • | Quartet No. 14 In F Sharp Major Op. 142: 1. Allegretto - Meno mosso - Allegretto - Meno mosso - Allegretto | | • | Quartet No. 14 In F Sharp Major Op. 142: 2. Adagio - attacca: | | • | Quartet No. 14 In F Sharp Major Op. 142: 3. Allegretto - Poco meno mosso - Adagio | | • | Quartet No. 15 In E Flat Minor Op. 144: 1. Elegy: Adagio - attacca: | | • | Quartet No. 15 In E Flat Minor Op. 144: 2. Serenade: Adagio - attacca: | | • | Quartet No. 15 In E Flat Minor Op. 144: 3. Intermezzo: Adagio - attacca: | | • | Quartet No. 15 In E Flat Minor Op. 144: 4. Nocturne: Adagio - attacca: | | • | Quartet No. 15 In E Flat Minor Op. 144: 5. Funeral March: Adagio molto - attacca: | | • | Quartet No. 15 In E Flat Minor Op. 144: 6. Epilogue: Adagio - Adagio molto |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com's Best of 2000
Can an American string quartet grasp the power of Shostakovich's 15 string quartets? By the sounds of this incredible cycle, the answer is a resounding Yes! Capturing every nuance of Shostakovich's emotionally gripping, sometimes humorous, often angst-filled compositions, the Emersons deliver very likely the finest performances of these works available. --Jason Verlinde
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| Customer Reviews: Read 14 more reviews...
 American-Style Borscht...with a Dash of Hot Sauce July 29, 2007
Dmitri Shostakovich, my favorite 20th century composer, wrote a series of fifteen string quartets that span his entire career. These are alternately searing, violent, brooding, fiery, introspective works that run the gamut of human emotion and experience -- hardly beautiful, and often quite depressing. But man, do they pack a wallop! They're often considered the greatest creations in the string quartet genre since Beethoven, and it's easy to see why.
These were recorded in live performance in three separate years ('94, '98, and '99) at the summer Aspen Music Festival in Colorado. The playing is not only passionate and precise, but imbued with a palpable intensity. There's no audible hint of an audience, but applause is included judiciously at the conclusion of several of the works. The recording is close-up and very vivid, though not quite in-your-face; there's adequate space around the instruments to make listening comfortable. Any closer and you'd be hurled against the back wall!
Even though I already have the quartets on separate older discs by various other groups, the Emersons give them that slap of American modernism quite apart from the Slavic flavor of a native Russian group like the Borodin Quartet. Yes, if one is familiar with these works, one can actually hear and feel the difference. I've read some critics speak of the Emersons' lack of a "Russian soul"; I have no idea what that means. I suppose if one has to ask....
ADDENDUM: Know that this set is now available in a re-issue at a greatly reduced price - Shostakovich: The String Quartets
Powerful, sometimes devastating November 10, 2006
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
This would be a bargain at almost any price, and the depth of emotional intensity that the Emerson brings to a live performance -- I saw them on a sticky evening at Ravinia in summer 2006, playing the last three quartets -- is evident in this stunning studio collection. In addition to the climactic quartets, don't miss the Eighth. Happy 100th birthday, Dmitri.
 a shame! September 25, 2006
0 out of 9 found this review helpful
These guys used to be decent players, but their playing have gotten worse over the years. They have no understanding of Shostakovich's music, but then again who does? These extraordinary works deserve extraordinary interpretations and nobody has yet offered definitve performances yet. Meanwhile, Fitwilliam and Debussy quartet offer very good performance of some of these works.
Could not be a better 8th June 25, 2006
0 out of 5 found this review helpful
Just saw the Emerson do the 8th at the Amelia Island chamber music summer program. It is not possible that there is a better performance of this work. Moving beyond belief.
Fitzwilliam versus Ermerson -- which to choose? March 9, 2006
38 out of 47 found this review helpful
For many buyers the choice for a complete cycle of the Shostakovich quartets will come down to three: the Borodin, Emerson, and Fitzwilliam quartets. I own the latter two and can offer a comparison.
Fitzwilliam: This set, made between 1975-77 in a church in Surrey, has the advantage of price. Although the 15 quartets are spread out over 6 CDs as compared to 5 for the Emersons, Decca offers this cycle at roughly half the cost of the DG cycle (it's even cheaper on the used market). The performances eschew Russian soul, grit, and emotional extremes such as one hears from the Borodin Quartet. The Fitzwilliam Quartet sounds soulful but stops short of impassioned. As much as it is possible, they make this music friendly and easy to listen to without sacrificing all of its bite and sarcasm. They are not a virtuoso group (English critics actually praise them for this lack, as if the Emersons' technical mastery was a sign of glibness), so individual solo lines, of which there are many in these quartets, sound medium well played, not dazzling. Decca's sound as transfered to CD can be a bit shrill and congested but is certainly good enough. One large missing ingredient is tonal variation--the Fitzwilliam doesn't search out the peculiar tonalities that are implied in Shostakovich's string writing, which can be eerie, ghostly, brutal, and caustic by turns.
Emerson: Recorded in Aspen at intervals between 1994 and 1999, these are live performances from the music festival and are thus not ideal sonically. What's sometimes lacking is solidity and warmth. Even so, the recorded sound is considerably more detailed than in the Fitzwilliam set, or any other of the four I listened to. When this cycle was first issued in 1999 it swept the field for good reason. The Emersons are head and shoulders above any other quartet for sheer virtuosity in this music. Not that virtuosity is required very often, but the many solo lines are rendered with exquisite technique, and the Emersons pay very close attention to changes in tonality. As a result, these performances are more varied and interesting to listen to than any competitor that I sampled (including the Fitzwilliam, Brodsky, Borodin, St. Petersburg, and Shostakovich quartets on various labels).
The drawbacks are price (it's hard to find even a used set for under $70) and the prevalent accusation, from some quarters, that the Emersons lack Russian soul--they are supposedly too cool, detached, and efficient. Yet this charge can be turned around to say that the Emersons make Shostakovich sound more modern by removing a layer of sentiment. It's really up to the listener to decide, yet I found that cool detachment is not prevalent here--not by any means--and the reviewer below who thinks that the tempos are uniformly too fast is not aware of the field; the Emersons are not extreme in their allegros, at least not very often, and when they paly a movement for virtuosic speed, it's almost alwaays to good effect.
I bbught this set because I heard the Emersons play Shostakovich in concert on two occasions, and I was deeply struck by how much better these quartets sound when they are given superlative musicianship. I am not one to believe that Shostakovich was a great master of quartet writing, not compared to Bartok, Schoenberg, and Janacek among moderns. But he found an idiom, often spare and therefore one-dimenisonal, that is easy to absorb. The Emersons go a step further and give that idiom all kinds of shading and colors that often make it sound better than it is.
In sum, I did what many collectors befoe me have done. I gave away the Fitzwilliam set, which was a good stop gap for many years, and relish the Emerson set as a great achievement, especially for a non-Russian ensemble.
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