Recommendations for Shostakovich String Quartets
Stephen Montgomery-Smith
Does anyone have any good recommendations for artists performing these
works?
(I have listened a great deal to his symphonies, conducted by Haitink,
which I really like a lot.)
Thanks, Stephen
boombox
Stephen Montgomery-Smith wrote:
> I am in the mood to start listening to Shostakovich's string quartets.
> Does anyone have any good recommendations for artists performing these
> works?
My favorites are by and large Russian groups, the Borodin, Beethoven,
Tanayev and Shostakovich quartets, but availability is always
changing.
If you’re starting out with this music, I’d recommend getting the
Fitzwilliams on Decca, available from various Amazon resellers for 8
or 9 dollars. You can’t beat the price, the performances are good and
well recorded, and once you’ve really got a taste for it, hunt down
the Borodins or the others in one of their affordable incarnations.
Dan Fowler
I'm not nearly as familiar with this music as I hope to be someday, but
I have recently acquired the set performed by the Borodin Quartet (the
later version with quartets 1-15 and the piano quintet with Sviatoslav
Richter)and am delighted with it. The playing is at times haunting,
savage, playful, singing, and never boring.
Dan
TareeDawg
You will get, undoubtedly, many fine recommendations for these works,
but not to be overlooked is the set by the Rubio SQ (a Flemish/Belgian
group), who are quite young, and technically very accomplished and
smooth. The recorded sound is excellent, and the performances were
recorded in various churches in the area before small audiences.
The set is quite inexpensive (on Brilliant Classics), and well worth
your consideration. I don't know the works well enough to be an expert
judge on this music, but I do know, that when I have absorbed what the
Rubio have to say, I will know the music fully, and be able to go on to
more 'revered' sets. But as there is so much music to listen to, I think
the Rubio will easily suffice for now.
Dawg (Taree)
Gerard
I'll second this.
This is one of the few recordings Brilliant Classics have made themself (in
stead of licensing some older recordings), and they have made an excellent
choice.
The Belgian Rubio Quartet is "specialized" in Shostakovitch. They play very good
modern instruments (all four made by the same violin builder for these players),
and the recording is excellent indeed.
But some Russian quartets may not be overlooked.
The Borodin Qt (as mentioned by others, Melodiya).
The Shostakovitch Quartet (Regis).
Andy Evans
http://www.createapoll.com/graphicresults.asp?id=17333 Poll
8,15,3,1,7,10,13
I recommend first of all, 8th and 1st. After these, I'd suggest the
3rd, which Dubinsky considered the greatest one. Then, I'd choose one
between the 4th, 6th, 7th and 14th and another between the 5th, 9th
and 10th. I'd explore the 11th, 12th, 13th and 15th only after hearing
all the previous ones.
I recommend Quartets 3, 7, 8, 9, 10, and 12.
1 x
2
3 xx
4 x
5 x
6 x
7 xx
8 xxxxx
9 xx
10 xx
11
12 x
13
14 x
15
These were premiered by:
No. 1: Glazunov Quartet
No. 2 - 14: Beethoven Quartet
No. 15: Taneyev Quartet
Taneyev Quartet, the only quartet that in MHO ever reached the
Borodins but their Melodiya cycle has never been circulated videly in
the west.
Try to find any recordings you can in which the quartets are performed
by the Beethoven Quartet or the Taneyev Quartet. One that should be
currently available is the Praga disk containing ##5, 6, and 7 in
Czech Radio
broadcasts from the '70s. Another is the Beethoven Quartet recording
of #2 c/w the Piano Quintet with the composer on the piano
(Vanguard).
Taneyev's (Melodiya) - their CD tranfer on Melodiya has been
remastered very shoddily, using the RIAA LP masters giving the sound a
very hollowly thin sound that shames their excellent playing. Niether
the Praga or the Leningrad Masters discs catches them in best light
Beethoven Quartet’s were issued on the Consonance label, and I have
seen them in CD shops (probably Tower NY or Boston) as recently as
last summer. I won't argue with any of the recommendations for either
the first (incomplete) or second Borodin Quartet cycles. But special
consideration should be given to recordings by the Beethoven Quartet
[Dmitry Tsyganov, Vasily Shirinsky, Vadim Borisovsky, Sergey
Shirinsky; V. Shirinsky and V. Borisovsky replaced by Nikolai
Zabavnikov and Fedor Druyinin (a pupil of the ill Borisovsky),
respectively], for whom they were written (but not necessarily
dedicated; Nos. 3 and 5 dedicated to the group, No.11 to the memory of
V. Shirinsky, No. 12 to D. Tsyganov, No. 13 to V. Borisovsky, No. 14
to S. Shirinsky) and who premiered all but the first* and the last
(No. 15, by the Taneyev Quartet, due to the death of
Sergei Shirinsky during the rehearsal period). Their studio recordings
were last seen (at least in the U.S.) on CD on the Consonance label
nos:
813005 Qts.1,2,4
813006 Qts. 7,8,15
813007 Qts. 3,6
813008 Qts. 12,13,14
813009 Qts. 9,10,11
They seem to be at least one generation away from the Melodiya
originals, but listenable all the same. For a "sample," try Vanguard
Classics OVC 8077 (from Melodiya, in better sound than Consonance),
which has their recording of No. 2 coupled with the Piano Quintet with
what's-his-name on piano (the same collective group that premiered the
work in Moscow in 1940).
PR7250077 PRAGA no 5-7 Taneyev Quartet Beethoven Quartet
The Beethoven SQ (Consonance and Melodiya), are generally a bit to
hectic (fast) for my taste.
Borodin Quartet
No. 1: EMI/Angel in the west , recorded in the sixties with Rostislav
Dubinsky as first violinist,
this was an incomplete cycle (1 - 13) - grand but has never surfaced
as CD, on the horizon there is the posibility that Chandos might be
rereleaseing it on their new 'Historical Label'?
Their later recordings for Virgin and Teldec are perhaps not as taut
as the earlier ones; The 70'ties cycle (Prev. BMG-Melodiya/EMI, lic.
Melodiya) betters the Eders in Everything, and the 1960's incomplete
(EMI, lic Melodiya) has few peers. The only one's to really compete
are the dedicatees of the DDS quartets, .
No.2: EMI/Angel in the west (CD ca. 1990), features Mikhail Kopelman
as first violinist (Now with the Tokyo Qt), recorded 1977-81 now
availible on Melodiya/BMG, a really really good set, and the best
integral one of those availible at the moment.
74321407122 QUARTETS 1, 2, 4 BORODIN QUARTET Melodiya £8.50
74321407132 QUARTET 3, QUINTET BORODIN QUARTET Melodiya £8.50
74321407142 QUARTETS 5, 6, 7 BORODIN QUARTET Melodiya £8.50
74321407152 QUARTETS 8, 9, 10 BORODIN QUARTET Melodiya £8.50
74321407162 QUARTETS 11, 12, 13 BORODIN QUARTET Melodiya £8.50
74321407172 QUARTETS 14, 15, BORODIN QUARTET Melodiya £8.50
74321407112 STRING QUARTETS NOS. 1-15 BORODIN QUARTET Melodiya 6cds
£51.00
7777590412 QUARTETS 3, 7, 8 BORODIN QUARTET £11.50 ??????
No. 3: Virgin, later with Teldec a new cycle was begun in the mid
1990's, all are finely played, but does not really reach the prior two
cycles, also with Kopelman as first.
At the moment there is a new, possibly fifth (sixth?) edition of the
Borodin quartet around, they have AFAIK not recorded yet, but they
have played many concerts over the two last years, who knows whats in
the make, the only original member that remains is the cellist,
Velentin Berlinsky.
VBD5616302 SHOSTAKOVICH:QRTETS 2,3,7,8&12 BORODIN STRING QUARTETT
£8.50
Shostakovich For musical motivation, razor-sharp intelligence and taut
dramatic logic - not to mention virtuoso playing from the leader -
it's the No.1 set in my book at any price (and I speak as a lover of
both Borodin sets).
At the Regis price, don't hesitate. They aren't afraid to make an ugly
sound when the music calls for it. Their playing in the bleak moments
(plenty in these quartets) is at least as expressive as the Borodins,
and knocks spots off the Fitzwilliams, the other main budget
contender. The only weak link is 8 (a pity, since it's many people's
favourite).
Absolutely, get this set. They have a strong Russian style; they take
chances with this music that no one else dreams of, and they generally
make it work very well. There is only one weak performance in the
set. (Unfortunately, it's the 8th.)
Seconded. It's impeccable, and besides that, extremely inexpensive.
OTOH, these performances do not have the meat-on-the-bones and in-the-
face emotionalism of the Borodin Qt CD set. It's a different approach.
Like a better, more idiomatic Emerson.
Fitzwilliam Good The set is available at a bargain price.
Emerson I recently listened through the Emerson cycle several times
and, despite the mixed reviews this ensemble regularly receives, I
generally like their Shostakovich performances
Brodsky should be avoided.
Eder Qt (ones I have):
vol.1 (Qrts 1, 8, 9). 8th: the performance is even better than the
Borodin, in my opinion. I's a different approach, and I like it very
much
(though there's a very little imperfection in the last movement). 9th:
here I prefer the Borodin (live, Melodiya stereo), but the Eder's
approach is
equally suitable, in my opinion. 1st: a great performance.
vol.2 (Qrts 4, 6, 7). 4th: very good. 6th: cellist György Eder is
great in the 3rd movement, marvellously built up. 7th: great 2nd and
3rd movement (in this movt,while the Taneyev is unique in the
esposition, the Eder is great right before the appearance of the
subject augmentated).
vol.3 (Qrts 3, 5). 3th: one of their best performances. Great 3rd and
4th movement. All is carefully shaped, precise, completely different
from the Taneyev's heartfelt live (Leningrad Masters). 5th: here in my
heart the Taneyev (Praga) hasn't been replaced yet (in the climax of
the 1st movt's development, how 1st violin Vladimir Ovcharek plays
that buratinesque-like transformation of the (I guess) 2nd part of the
1st theme (the one at first played staccato by viola and cello
together); the sound of the 2nd movement (and it's live...); in the
3rd's climax, how Ovcharek plays the "feroce", how cellist Jozif
Levinzon's repeated F sharp (9 bars!) emerges above all...), anyway
there are some remarkable things, like, at the end of the development,
the figure which leads to the 2nd theme played by 1st violin György
Selmeczy.
I think that the "Eders" do an OK job, in generally they play a bit
sloppy, accentuating some parts by not beeing as distinct as I
prefer. But then I cant say how much of their playing stems from the
usual Naxos speeded production system versus their own lacking
integerty, they are not a bad quartet as proven by other repertoir. I
disagree with You about the Borodins, with loads of emphasis
depending on which period BSQ Your alluding to,
Thornhill
> I have recently acquired the set performed by the Borodin Quartet (the
> later version with quartets 1-15 and the piano quintet with Sviatoslav
> Richter)and am delighted with it. The playing is at times haunting,
> savage, playful, singing, and never boring.
>
> Dan
Agreed
Stephen Montgomery-Smith
Thanks everyone. Based upon your recommendations, I found an mp3 set of
Borodin playing 2, 3, 7, 8, 12 on amazon.com for about $7, and I like
them very much. I'll probably go for the complete set someday.
I listened to the samplers on amazon.com for the Fitzwilliam, and they
also sound good, but I have never found the samplers reliable because
they play such a small portion, and when you listen again and again they
don't sound so good anymore.
Stephen
Matthew B. Tepper
letters to be typed in news:g15d2...@news3.newsguy.com:
> I'm not nearly as familiar with this music as I hope to be someday, but
> I have recently acquired the set performed by the Borodin Quartet (the
> later version with quartets 1-15 and the piano quintet with Sviatoslav
> Richter)and am delighted with it. The playing is at times haunting,
> savage, playful, singing, and never boring.
I would really like there to be a reissue of the Borodin Quartet's earlier
recording of the Piano Quintet, with the assistance of Lyuba Edlina, wife of
first violinist Rostislav Dubinsky. But I guess the presence of Richter in
the remake eats up all the potential market share.
--
Matthew B. Tepper: WWW, science fiction, classical music, ducks!
My personal home page -- http://home.earthlink.net/~oy/index.html
My main music page --- http://home.earthlink.net/~oy/berlioz.html
To write to me, do for my address what Androcles did for the lion
War is Peace. ** Freedom is Slavery. ** It's all Napster's fault!
Matthew B. Tepper
following letters to be typed in news:893391d7-40c1-4a45-8b15-
c1e0dd...@34g2000hsf.googlegroups.com:
Thanks for the detailed accumulation of reviews and recommendations.
> I recommend first of all, 8th and 1st. After these, I'd suggest the
> 3rd, which Dubinsky considered the greatest one.
Note the recentish Juilliard String Quartet release on Sony which contains
quartets ## 3, 14, and 15 ... and is stickered as containing the composer's
last three quartets. (This is exactly the sort of mistake that is missed by
shopping on-line instead of at a brick-and-mortar store. For entertainment
value alone, it's worth it!)
> No. 1: EMI/Angel in the west, recorded in the sixties with Rostislav
> Dubinsky as first violinist,
> this was an incomplete cycle (1 - 13) - grand but has never surfaced
> as CD, on the horizon there is the posibility that Chandos might be
> rereleaseing it on their new 'Historical Label'?
You're a little behind the curve here -- they're on Chandos CHAN 10064(4).
I've supplemented this incomplete set with the same recordings I used for the
same purpose back in the LP days, the Beethoven Quartet's pathbreaking
recordings, fitfully available on Melodiya MEL CD 10 00863.
Martin
1, 3, 4, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15. Can someone provide a
perspective on whether this is worth adding to my Borodin I, II and
Fitzwilliam sets, and, if so, why?
Thanks.
Andy Evans
> > No. 1: EMI/Angel in the west, recorded in the sixties with Rostislav
> > Dubinsky as first violinist,
> > this was an incomplete cycle (1 - 13) - grand but has never surfaced
> > as CD, on the horizon there is the posibility that Chandos might be
> > rereleaseing it on their new 'Historical Label'?
>
> You're a little behind the curve here -- they're on Chandos CHAN 10064(4). �
> I've supplemented this incomplete set with the same recordings I used for the
> same purpose back in the LP days, the Beethoven Quartet's pathbreaking
> recordings, fitfully available on Melodiya MEL CD 10 00863.
>
I have those Melodya LPs - I don't play LPs any more so open to
offers!!! I also have Feinberg's 48 and Rozhdestvensky's Sibelius
Symphonies to sell, on LP. Andy Evans
boombox
Well, from a historical perspective, they were the group was entrusted
with the premiere of all the DDS quartets until the end, when they
disbanded. It seems that Shostakovich did this partly out of loyalty,
as he was very keen on the Borodins, too, but there was no doubt the
Beethoven quartet had a very special place in his affections. The
performances themselves are excellent and, as we often find in
founding interpretations, faster than most.
So it depends on your Shostakovich Straing Quartet Tolerance Index.
How many can you take? If you’re a DDS maven, you’ve got to have the
Beethovens.
You might also want to check other sources, as there are several
editions around, some more complete than what you’ve mentioned.
jrs...@aol.com
The samplers are useless. The Fitzwilliam are fine. But I think you
will quickly find that almost every recording is very fine these days.
Not even mentioned yet, but one of my favorites, is the recent set by
Quatuor Danel.
--Jeff
W. Satterthwaite
was available at RussianDVD.com. The transfers are very good,
as are the performances, a bit lighter/mercurial/nuanced than the
Borodins. I googled "Aulos CD" etc, and there's virtually
nothing to be found...did Aulos go the way of Revelation etc?
If so, too bad...their Kondrashin/DSCH symphony set was very
good, too!
Listening now to the Taneyev playing DSCH 7...my favorite
performance of this work.
Bill in Seattle
On Fri, 23 May 2008, Andy Evans wrote:
> Date: Fri, 23 May 2008 02:34:31 -0700 (PDT)
> From: Andy Evans <performan...@gmail.com>
> Subject: Re: Recommendations for Shostakovich String Quartets
Matthew B. Tepper
following letters to be typed in news:b3f40dae-3641-4507-8b4e-2505e50bfc01
@x35g2000hsb.googlegroups.com:
Back in the day, I owned the cycle on LP as follows (with digressions that
I think are worth mentioning for the history involved):
1-11, Borodin Q (the only one there was at the time) in two separate 3-LP
sets on Melodiya-Seraphim. For a while in the 1960s, Melodiya had a
licensing agreement with at least a couple of EMI divisions, HMV in the UK
and the Angel label in the US. Thus a lot of us classical music lovers got
our Soviet recordings on Melodiya-Angel. Seraphim was Angel's budget line,
and a very few Melodiya items were issued as Melodiya-Seraphim; indeed, I
can only think of these quartets, and Prokofiev's oratorio "On Guard for
Peace," though there may have been more.
Melodiya later had licensing arrangements variously with Columbia,
Westminster, and Vanguard. There may even have been some joint production
arrangements with Westminster, which could explain why we're seeing some
Rostropovich and/or Gilels issues on DGG. (I recently bought "Emil Gilels:
Early Recordings" and the new Gilels-Kogan-Rostropovich issue, so I'm glad
we don't have to wait for yet another claimant to ownership of Melodiya to
appear and then get shot down.)
12 and 13 I had with the Borodins, but on two separate LPs. I *think* 12
was never issued in the US, and I think I had it on Melodiya-HMV; I can't
for the life of me recall what the coupling was. I'm pretty sure I bought
it by the summer of 1974, as I was able to buy the miniature score of this
quartet on a travelling summer vacation that year. 13 *was* issued in the
US, coupled with the Oistrakh-Richter recording of the Violin Sonata.
14 and 15 were never recorded by the original Borodins, and here is where I
want to insert a personal reminiscence. The quartet came to San Francisco
to perform in late 1974 or early 1975. The cellist, Valentin Berlinsky,
hurt his finger and was not able to play, so they asked Laszlo Varga to
deputize. I've written at length about Mr. Varga, who at the time was one
of my professors, in this newsgroup over the years, so I won't repeat that
here. The program had to be revised a bit -- I think they substituted the
Debussy quartet for the Ravel, or maybe it was the other way around -- but
the performance went off very well indeed.
Afterwards, the three Borodin Quartet members were surrounded by admirers
in their dressing-room. I say the members, but I really mean the first
violinist Rostislav Dubinsky, who had pretty good English and was almost
effusively outgoing. I spoke with him briefly, mentioning an MK release of
theirs that I particularly treasured, the Barber Quartet and one of those
by Weinberg/Vainberg, #7, I think; he brought his violin up and played a
bit of each of those works (the beginning of the Adagio, of course) just
for me. Naturally, I asked him about Shostakovich, who he said was "very
ill," but had "recently completed his 15th quartet, and sent us the score.
It is six movements, all adagios." I was astonished, to say the least.
A teenaged girl with curly hair presented Dubinsky with a Star of David on
a neckchain, and he accepted it in very hushed tones, looking over his
shoulder at the two other players. Second fiddle Yaroslav Alexandrov
basically ignored what was going on, but violist Dmitri Shebalin wore a
very sour impression, and I wondered if he was the "political officer" of
the ensemble. Or maybe he was just worried about what the minders would
report back about them.
Somewhere in a box in the second bedroom I have Dubinsky's book, _Stormy
Applause: Making Music in a Worker's State_ (New York: Hill & Wang, 1989),
and maybe one of these day's I'll read it in order to get details, fill in
the blanks, and see just how good or bad my memory is.
As we all know, Dubinsky applied for emigration, the usual hell broke
loose, and that is probably why the Borodin Quartet of that era never got
around to recording 14 and 15. Dubinsky went, I think, to Israel for a
while, spent some time in Indiana, and ultimately wound up in Toronto.
Laszlo Varga retired from his San Francisco positions, and also went to
Toronto, where he formed the Borodin Trio with Dubinsky and the latter's
wife, Luba Edlina.
Return from interrupt! 14 and 15 were recorded by the Beethoven Quartet
and the Taneyev Quartet; the latter was issued on Melodiya-Columbia, but I
felt the Beethovens' were probably closer to Shostakovich, and found their
recording on Melodiya-Eurodisc (another licensing agreement!) complemented
the Borodins' 1-13 very well.
Now, of course, the Borodins' 1-13 are in a 4-CD box on Chandos, and the
Beethovens' 14 and 15 are available from some outfit claiming ownership of
the Melodiya catalogue; I have all of those, and I have the Fitzwilliams
(which I bought on LP as they came out one by one, replaced with the boxed
set of LPs, and now have in the little CD box) as well. I might well buy
the Alexander String Quartet's set, because not only have they received
some very favorable reviews, they also include a fragment of a quartet
movement, claimed as a first recording. I've already purchased this last
via download, but it's just not the same as owning a disc, you know....
If anybody can help me with missing or misremembered details, or clean up
my doubtless befuddled chronology, I'd greatly appreciate it.
Bob Harper
(snip)
> Afterwards, the three Borodin Quartet members were surrounded by admirers
> in their dressing-room. I say the members, but I really mean the first
> violinist Rostislav Dubinsky, who had pretty good English and was almost
> effusively outgoing. I spoke with him briefly, mentioning an MK release of
> theirs that I particularly treasured, the Barber Quartet and one of those
> by Weinberg/Vainberg, #7, I think; he brought his violin up and played a
> bit of each of those works (the beginning of the Adagio, of course) just
> for me. Naturally, I asked him about Shostakovich, who he said was "very
> ill," but had "recently completed his 15th quartet, and sent us the score.
> It is six movements, all adagios." I was astonished, to say the least.
>
> A teenaged girl with curly hair presented Dubinsky with a Star of David on
> a neckchain, and he accepted it in very hushed tones, looking over his
> shoulder at the two other players. Second fiddle Yaroslav Alexandrov
> basically ignored what was going on, but violist Dmitri Shebalin wore a
> very sour impression, and I wondered if he was the "political officer" of
> the ensemble. Or maybe he was just worried about what the minders would
> report back about them.
> Somewhere in a box in the second bedroom I have Dubinsky's book, _Stormy
> Applause: Making Music in a Worker's State_ (New York: Hill & Wang, 1989),
> and maybe one of these day's I'll read it in order to get details, fill in
> the blanks, and see just how good or bad my memory is.
'Stormy Applause' makes it clear that Alexandrov was the Party member
and enforcer. Berlinsky (the cellist, and the only original member left
today) was also a Party member, but apparently for reasons of
convenience and opportunity, not conviction. He was half Jewish (on his
father's side), but chose to be identified as 'Russian' on his passport,
and made clear to Dubinsky that his (Dubinsky's) Judaism was not likely
to make the Quartet's life any easier, to say the least.
>
> As we all know, Dubinsky applied for emigration, the usual hell broke
> loose, and that is probably why the Borodin Quartet of that era never got
> around to recording 14 and 15. Dubinsky went, I think, to Israel for a
> while, spent some time in Indiana, and ultimately wound up in Toronto.
> Laszlo Varga retired from his San Francisco positions, and also went to
> Toronto, where he formed the Borodin Trio with Dubinsky and the latter's
> wife, Luba Edlina.
I am unaware that Varga was ever connected with the Borodin Trio; AFAIK
the cellist was always Yuli Turovsky. I had the good fortune to hear
them several times at the end of the '70s/beginning of the '80s at a
small chamber music festival at Concordia Cllege in Portland, and
Dubinsky was the cellist then. I think they were based in Bloomington at
that time; Turovsky went on to Toronto to found I Musici de Montreal;
the Dubinskys stayed in Indiana. As of last January, she was still on
the faculty when this memorial concert for Dubinsky was performed:
http://www.music.indiana.edu/apps/prelude/new/pullfile.php?rownum=4536&filetype=pdf
(snip)
> If anybody can help me with missing or misremembered details, or clean up
> my doubtless befuddled chronology, I'd greatly appreciate it.
>
I hope I've helped.
Bob Harper
Matthew B. Tepper
letters to be typed in news:BbudnbPfU6J2aKfV...@comcast.com:
Aha! Either I confused the two musicians when I saw them in the dressing
room, or I totally mistook Shebalin's attitude.
>> As we all know, Dubinsky applied for emigration, the usual hell broke
>> loose, and that is probably why the Borodin Quartet of that era never
>> got around to recording 14 and 15. Dubinsky went, I think, to Israel
>> for a while, spent some time in Indiana, and ultimately wound up in
>> Toronto. Laszlo Varga retired from his San Francisco positions, and
>> also went to Toronto, where he formed the Borodin Trio with Dubinsky
>> and the latter's wife, Luba Edlina.
>
> I am unaware that Varga was ever connected with the Borodin Trio; AFAIK
> the cellist was always Yuli Turovsky. I had the good fortune to hear them
> several times at the end of the '70s/beginning of the '80s at a small
> chamber music festival at Concordia College in Portland, and Dubinsky was
> the cellist then.
I assume that's just a typo and that you meant "violinist." As for Varga, a
Google search on his name and "Borodin Trio" or "Borodin Piano Trio" will
bear me out. He was still in San Francisco in early 1979, which was when I
had my conducting lessons from him.
> I think they were based in Bloomington at that time; Turovsky went on to
> Toronto to found I Musici de Montreal; the Dubinskys stayed in Indiana. As
> of last January, she was still on the faculty when this memorial concert
> for Dubinsky was performed:
>
> http://www.music.indiana.edu/apps/prelude/new/pullfile.php?rownum=4536&fi
> letype=pdf
>
> (snip)
>> If anybody can help me with missing or misremembered details, or clean
>> up my doubtless befuddled chronology, I'd greatly appreciate it.
>>
> I hope I've helped.
You certainly have!
Now, there's one more thread in all of this: After emigrating, I recall that
Dubinsky formed a quartet which included at least one ex-pat member of the
Glinka Quartet, and they called it the Boro-Glin Quartet. But Google shows
nothing here, so that may have been only a short-lived ensemble.
boombox
Matthew B. Tepper wrote:
> Now, there's one more thread in all of this: After emigrating, I recall that
> Dubinsky formed a quartet which included at least one ex-pat member of the
> Glinka Quartet, and they called it the Boro-Glin Quartet. But Google shows
> nothing here, so that may have been only a short-lived ensemble.
Maybe it was the Glinka-din quartet.
Bob Harper
> Bob Harper <bob.h...@comcast.net> appears to have caused the following
> letters to be typed in news:BbudnbPfU6J2aKfV...@comcast.com:
>
>> Matthew B. Tepper wrote:
(snip)
>>> loose, and that is probably why the Borodin Quartet of that era never
>>> got around to recording 14 and 15. Dubinsky went, I think, to Israel
>>> for a while, spent some time in Indiana, and ultimately wound up in
>>> Toronto. Laszlo Varga retired from his San Francisco positions, and
>>> also went to Toronto, where he formed the Borodin Trio with Dubinsky
>>> and the latter's wife, Luba Edlina.
>> I am unaware that Varga was ever connected with the Borodin Trio; AFAIK
>> the cellist was always Yuli Turovsky. I had the good fortune to hear them
>> several times at the end of the '70s/beginning of the '80s at a small
>> chamber music festival at Concordia College in Portland, and Dubinsky was
>> the cellist then.
>
> I assume that's just a typo and that you meant "violinist."
Actually, I intended to write "*Turovsky* was the cellist then."--which
was the case when I saw them. I'm pretty certain that Turovsky was the
original cellist, so Varga must have replaced him when T. moved on to
Montreal.
I did find one Chandos recording of Hummel Trios with Varga listed as
cellist. Were there any others? I assume the Trio disbanded after
Dubinsky's death.
Bob Harper
As for Varga, a
> Google search on his name and "Borodin Trio" or "Borodin Piano Trio" will
> bear me out. He was still in San Francisco in early 1979, which was when I
> had my conducting lessons from him.
(snip)
Lawrence Chalmers
have a first listen to this body of DS work. I was impressed but since
haven't had the time yet for another traversal. These recordings are
not thought of, it seems, very highly around these parts. So I, too,
have been thinking of an alternative. I'm still not sure which to go
for. I like my Shostakovich to approach a visceral level
and to sing as well. Sound quality is
not a priority, so I'm open to 'historic'
performances. And I'd like to get them in a set of all 15, if possible.
Still confused.
Chris Manning
Andy Evans <performan...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Borodin Quartet
> No. 1: EMI/Angel in the west , recorded in the sixties with Rostislav
> Dubinsky as first violinist, this was an incomplete cycle (1 - 13) -
> grand but has never surfaced as CD, on the horizon there is the posibility
> that Chandos might be rereleaseing it on their new 'Historical Label'?
> No.2: EMI/Angel in the west (CD ca. 1990), features Mikhail Kopelman
> as first violinist (Now with the Tokyo Qt), recorded 1977-81 now
> availible on Melodiya/BMG, a really really good set, and the best
> integral one of those availible at the moment.
> 74321407112 STRING QUARTETS NOS. 1-15 BORODIN QUARTET Melodiya 6cds
> £51.00
I presume that's the set which I purchased last December for £20 -
Melodiya MEL CD 10 01077; it was on special offer at the time, but I'd
hope it was still available at a price far less than £51. According to the
enclosed booklet the personnel were Kopelman/Abramenkov/Shebalin/Berlinksky,
and the recordings were made between 1978 and 1983. The set also includes
Two Pieces for String Octet (with the Prokofiev Quartet, rec. 1964), and the
Piano Quintet (with Richter, rec. 1983).
Chris
Al Eisner
I think the Borodin Quartet fits that bill. I'm very fond of the complete
(second) Borodin set, which I definitely prefer to the Emerson I've heard.
I don't know other cycles. Some here prefer the original Borodin's set to
the later one, but it has only 13 of the 15 quartets. Both Borodin sets
are available fairly cheaply -- the second set, for example, from MDT
and Amazon-UK. This is listed as Melodiya, with an issue date of 2006
according to Amazon-UK, and a different-looking cover from the BMG/Melodiya
box I have; the latter is claimed to be remastered in 1997. I suspect the
box now available in Europe is also remastered, but I don't really know
how to tell. By the way, Amazon-US has the earlier set of 1-13.
--
Al Eisner
San Mateo Co., CA