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| Shostakovich: The 15 String Quartets | 
enlarge | Creators: Dmitry Shostakovich, Beethoven Quartet, Dmitri Tziganov, Komitas Quartet Label: Doremi Records Category: Music
List Price: $111.98 Buy New: $70.60 You Save: $41.38 (37%)
Buy New/Used from $68.20
Avg. Customer Rating:   (1 reviews) Sales Rank: 234700
Format: Box Set Media: Audio CD Discs: 1 Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2 Dimensions (in): 5.6 x 5 x 0.5
UPC: 723721249755 EAN: 0723721249755 ASIN: B000J3FBJS
Release Date: November 14, 2006 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Tracks:
Disc 1
| | I. Moderato | | | II. Moderato | | | III. Allegro Molto | | | IV. Allegro | | | I. Moderato Con Moto | | | II. Recitative & Romance: Adagio | | | III. Waltz: Allegro | | | IV. Theme & Variations | | | I. Allegretto | | | II. Moderato Con Moto | | | III. Allegro Non Troppo | | | IV. Adagio | | | V. Moderato |
Disc 2
| | I. Allegretto | | | II. Andantino Allegretto | | | III. Allegretto | | | IV. Allegretto | | | I. Allegro Non Troppo | | | II. Andante | | | III. Moderato | | | I. Allegretto | | | II. Moderato Con Moto | | | III. Lento | | | IV. Lento, Allegretto |
Disc 3
| | I. Allegretto | | | II. Lento | | | III. Allegro, Allegretto | | | I. Largo | | | II. Allegro Molto | | | III. Allegretto | | | IV. Largo | | | V. Largo | | | I. Moderato Con Moto | | | II. Adagio | | | III. Allegretto | | | IV. Adagio | | | V. Allegro | | | I. Andante | | | II. Allegretto Furioso | | | III. Adagio | | | IV. Allegretto |
Disc 4
| | I. Introduction: Andantino | | | II. Scherzo: Allegretto | | | III. Recitative: Adagio | | | IV. Etude: Allegro | | | V. Humoreske: Allegro | | | VI. Elegy: Adagio | | | VII. Conclusion: Moderato | | | I. Moderato, Allegretto | | | II. Allegretto | | | Adagio | | | Two Pieces (Prelude & Scherzo) For String Octet | | | I. Allegretto |
Disc 5
| | II. Adagio | | | II. Adagio | | | III. Allegretto | | | I. Elegy: Adagio | | | II. Serenade: Adagio | | | III. Intermezzo: Adagio | | | IV. Nocturne: Adagio | | | V. Funeral March: Adagio Molto | | | VI. Epilog: Adagio |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Album Description "[The Beethoven Quartet's] view of this cycle carries special authority. Collectors who were lucky enough to get the old Melodiya LPs from the 1950s and 1960s, and who still treasure them, will welcome their reappearance ... no other group was closer to Shostakovich's mind." - PENGUIN GUIDE TO COMPACT DISCS A priceless treasury of the complete string quartets of Shostakovich recorded in the early 1960s by the legendary Beethoven String Quartet, with a bonus of the Two Pieces played by the Comitas Quartet. Although Shostakovich had been acquainted with the members of the Beethoven Quartet since 1925, their professional relationship blossomed in 1938. In this year, the composer attended the Beethoven Quartet's extremely successful Moscow premiere performance of his first string quartet. Shostakovich would go on to dedicate many of his works to the Quartet as a whole or as individuals. Quartets number three and five were dedicated to the quartet, while quartets number eleven through fourteen honored specific members of the Quartet. The Beethoven String Quartet premiered all but two of the fifteen Shostakovich quartets. Only a few chamber ensembles have managed to exist so long and, moreover, to preserve their artistic originality as the Comitas Quartet, which recently celebrated eighty years of continuous activity. Though the Comitas Quartet naturally consisted of different musicians throughout the years of its history, their performances were always marked by a high caliber of professionalism and sense of tact. DOREMI's restoration process is a very special one, as your ears will confirm. The utmost care is taken in lovingly reprocessing only the most significant and truly treasurable historic recordings.
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| Customer Reviews:
  Unique And Essential Shostakovich July 30, 2007 5 out of 5 found this review helpful
I have long prized the Vanguard lps I bought around 1960, recordings of the first five Shostakovich String Quartets and the Piano Quintet. The Komitas Quartet was featured on the 1st Quartet, the Tchaikovsky Quartet on Nos. 3 and 4, and the Beethoven Quartet on Nos. 2 and 5 and the Quintet, with Shostakovich at the piano.
This set likely contains those early performances of Nos. 2 and 5; I have never heard another performance to equal them in a unique blend of brute force, abject tenderness, and a kind of fierce stoicism. This holds true for all the quartets heard here, and the depth of feeling coupled with exemplary technique (to my ears) surpasses even the Borodin Quartet's original recordings of Quartets 1 - 13, reissued on Chandos.
The Borodin set is blessed with better sound, but what I hear on these discs is far better than what was available on the Vanguard lps, which I still own. Only those who demand the latest, digital recordings should pass on this set. The Quintet is still available on a Vanguard CD, coupled with the 2nd Quartet. If you can't afford this set, at least get that. I recently copied my lp to CD; I treasure that Quintet recording.
The notes are mainly concerned with the Beethoven Quartet's relationship with the composer. I am certain that Quartets 2 through 5 are monophonic recordings (the notes say nothing about recording dates, but they likely correspond to the date of the premieres from about 1956 on) and I am fairly sure the recording of No. 15 is the same that appears on Praga Pr254043, coupled with No.14 performed by the Glinka Quartet. That is an excellent supplement to the Borodin set on Chandos, by the way.
I recommend this to all who care about this music, and the quartet that premiered it.
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