Tag: Borodin Quartet
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5 Star Review of the Weinberg: String Quartets Nos. 7 & 8, Serenade for Orchestra, Sinfonietta No. 2
Gary Lemco of Audiophile Audition gives Weinberg: String Quartets Nos. 7 & 8, Serenade for Orchestra, Sinfonietta No. 2 Five Stars! “The 1952 Sinfonietta No. 2 in A Minor for string orchestra and timpani is performed by Rudolf Barshai and the Moscow Chamber Orchestra in 1962. In four movements of approximately equal duration, the piece opens with…
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Mieczysław Weinberg: String Quartets Nos. 7 & 8, Serenade for Orchestra, Sinfonietta No. 2
Alto’s newest release its Mieczysław Weinberg series returns to international availability some of the earliest recordings of his music played by close artistic collaborators. These rare Weinberg recordings, made by some of the Soviet era’s greatest artists, flew under the radar of music journalists and reviewers when they were first released, and ring with unparalleled…
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Mieczysław Weinberg: Piano Quintet, Violin Concerto & Moldavian Rhapsody
Mieczyslaw Weinberg has emerged at last as one of the leading Soviet composers of the post-Shostakovich generation, following decades of almost scandalous neglect in the music world. This prolific composer’s works retain the unabashed post-romantic candor of Shostakovich, but evolved in a unique and inimitable style as his career progressed. For the first time, three…
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Dvořák: Piano Concerto, Piano Quintet
Antonín Dvořák, though best known for his Symphony No. 9 “From the New World” and Cello Concerto, wrote a large body of masterful and tuneful music combining traditional forms with Czech color and melody. The unrevised version of his Piano Concerto is one of the most challenging such works in the repertoire, yet Sviatoslav Richter,…
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Borodin String Quartets Nos. 1 & 2
“movement-by-movement comparison makes it clear that …the Borodins win hands down … their internal balance at every point is irreproachable” (Gramophone)
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Brahms: Piano Quintet Op.34 & Franck: Piano Quintet
(Brahms) “a performance that brings warmth as well as drama to this music one must go … to Richter and the Borodin Quartet … (Gramophone) “Absolutely magnificent …a performance in a thousand. It must be heard” (EMG) “There is no better performance available at any price” (Penguin Guide to LPs).
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Debussy: String Quartet; Cello Sonata; Ravel: String Quartet; Introduction & Allegro
(Cello Sonata) “triumphant … Rostropovich’s own superb playing in a variety of styles, admirably partnered by Britten (an outstanding chamber music pianist), a splendid performance of the Debussy sonata … notable for its sensitivity, fluidity and fantasy, and the remarkable rapport evidently existing between these two artists” (Gramophone) (Ravel): “beauty & subtlety of Ravel’s sublime…
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Great Russian String Quartets
(Borodin) “movement-by-movement comparison makes it clear that …the Borodins win hands down … their internal balance at every point is irreproachable (Gramophone) (Glazunov): “reconciliation between the traditions of Borodin and Tchaikovsky … Shostakovich Quartet have great feeling for this music and play with real conviction” (Penguin Guide); (Tchaikovsky): “their earlier recordings (as here) are unassailable…
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Borodin Quartet Play Haydn & Mozart Favorites
1st issue in west: “(One of the few Soviet groups) often given permission to play outside the USSR, the Borodin Quartet became internationally famous through concerts and recordings and they became particularly associated with the works of Shostakovich and Tchaikovsky.“ (James Murray)
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Tchaikovsky: String Quartet No. 2; Souvenir de Florence
The Second Quartet in particular is a most memorable piece, with its first-movement fusion of song, dance and symphonic rhetoric, its action-packed sequences and strong melodies. (Souvenir): Rostropovich is, of course, a compelling presence … driving tempos, distinguished solo work and an overall interpretation that is notably exciting in its own right.’ (Gramophone) ‘Both their…
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Schubert: Trout Quintet; Sonata Arpeggione; Quartettsatz
(Trout) ‘this account has marvelous detail … that might have gone unnoticed in other versions: first movement is very vibrantly played, while the second allows complete contrast, gently lyrical’(Penguin Guide 3 stars) (Shafran) ‘I love his playing. Even at 12 years old. I was immediately entranced; so elegant, so free – and so different from…
