Complete String Quartets

4.5 out of 5 stars 37 ratings

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Audio CD, April 18, 2006
$21.11 $47.22

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1 Moderato
2 Moderato
3 Allegro Molto
4 Allegro
5 Overture: Moderato Con Moto
6 Recitativo & Romance: Adagio
7 Valse
8 Tema Con Variazioni: Adagio/Allegretto/Piu Mosso/Allegro Non Troppo/Allegro/Adagio

Disc: 2

1 Allegretto
2 Moderato Con Moto
3 Allegro Non Troppo
4 Adagio
5 Moderato
6 Allegretto
7 Andantino
8 Allegretto
9 Allegretto

Disc: 3

1 Allegro Non Troppo
2 Andante
3 Moderato
4 Allegretto
5 Moderato Con Moto
6 Lento
7 Lento-Allegretto
8 Allegretto
9 Lento
10 Allegro

Disc: 4

1 Largo
2 Allegro Molto
3 Allegretto
4 Largo
5 Largo
6 Moderato Con Moto
7 Adagio
8 Allegretto
9 Adagio
10 Allegro
11 Andante
12 Allegretto Furioso
13 Adagio
14 Allegretto

Disc: 5

1 Introduction: Andantino
2 Scherzo: Allegretto
3 Recitativo: Adagio
4 Etude: Allegro
5 Humoresque: Allegro
6 Elegy: Adagio
7 Finale: Moderato
8 Moderato
9 Allegretto
10 Adagio

Disc: 6

1 Allegretto
2 Adagio
3 Allegretto
4 Elegy: Adagio
5 Serenade: Adagio
6 Intermezzo: Adagio
7 Nocturne: Adagio
8 Funeral March: Adagio Molto
9 Epilogue: Adagio

Editorial Reviews

Song: Chostakkovich: Sururaku Quartet (Play) No. 1 - 15 (Recording) Brodoski Quartet (Recording) February 1988, September, Teldeck Studio, Berlin (Digital)

Product details

  • Product Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.67 x 4.92 x 0.94 inches; 8.4 ounces
  • Manufacturer ‏ : ‎ Warner Classics
  • Original Release Date ‏ : ‎ 2006
  • SPARS Code ‏ : ‎ DDD
  • Date First Available ‏ : ‎ February 17, 2007
  • Label ‏ : ‎ Warner Classics
  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0000CBHYW
  • Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 6
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 out of 5 stars 37 ratings

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
37 global ratings

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Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on April 6, 2020
    Not as hip as Kronos, but cooler than Emerson. It comes down to the degree of eclecticism you’re seeking. They’re all brilliant.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on January 11, 2019
    get this set, it's GOOD
    One person found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on August 25, 2014
    This is a solidly-played complete set of Dmitri Shostakovich’s 15 quartets from the Brodsky Quartet, a UK ensemble that recorded for Teldec over a number of years. The Shostakovich quartets I have been pleased to discover have elicited a number of outstanding releases, a field which I’d describe as exceptionally strong. Examples include the older Borodin Quartet cycle, which remains very good, as well as an excellent 2-CD set this long-time group did for Virgin circa 1990. The recordings from the St. Petersburg Quartet (quartets 5,7,9) and another younger UK ensemble, the Sorrel Quartet (quartets 6, 7, 10), are also exceptional examples of modern chamber music playing. I found that these abovementioned recordings outdo what is generally a good but not outstanding set from the Emerson Quartet, probably the best known cycle. I haven’t heard the Fitzwilliam Quartet’s cycle but, based on my experience with them in other repertory, can’t imagine they could keep up with these other recordings.

    So where does this leave the Brodsky version? It’s a bit less successful than the Emerson set but still a good and successful set of performances. The Brodsky is before all else technically excellent and they create some nice interpretational touches. I particularly enjoyed their vibrant, cohesive account of the 6th quartet (1956). The ensemble takes the whole quartet exceptionally fast, which allows them to fashion an incredibly tight opening Allegretto into a thrilling performance. The awesome scherzo is also pulled together by the rapid tempo. The section towards the end of the Allegretto where the main theme is presented pizzicato by the cello while accompanied by other strings is spellbinding. All in all, a powerful and original interpretation.

    I also liked their work in the later quartets, written in Shostakovich’s last decade, when he was experimenting with atonality and twelve-tone writing. Their playing of the 12th quartet (1968) for example is successful, well-done and evocative. I also enjoyed the 1st quartet (1938), an interpretation which held up as sensitive and well conceived as I compared it to other performances.

    But the Brodsky Quartet has a tendency to slip into perfectly-executed and streamlined playing that shears Shostakovich of some of his emotional intensity and glosses over the opportunities for timbral effects so well exploited by the Sorrel and St. Petersburg Quartet releases. It’s a tendency I also heard in the Brodsky’s good but not exceptional Teldec release of the Borodin and Tchaikovsky 2nd quartets, by the way. This is heard in their version of the long 15th quartet, which is sensitively done but can be infused with more intensity and, in a piece that forms a sort of farewell, sadness.

    The Brodsky Shostakovich cycle was apparently the first done in digital sound and you can tell that the technology had not yet been mastered, even by Teldec, a label with a well-deserved reputation for excellent engineering. This disc sounds good in the lower registers but is a bit harsh in the upper. This is a worthwhile if not perfect effort from the Brodsky. 4 stars.
    5 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on March 12, 2015
    I've always liked the Brodsky. They always do SOMETHING different, here and there, and they also aren't afraid to let thing rip. The Teldec sound is first class as is to be expected, but isn't perfect for every work (13 could always use a little more auditorium- even though, the Brodsky's 13 is one of the best, imo).

    They may be my first choice in No.6, have an extremely competitive 7-8 combo, have a searing 11 and 13, a slightly reticent 14, and nice versions of 2-3.

    I fault them somewhat in No.5; they take the 1st of No.1 too slow and draggy; their 12 lopes a bit.

    Frankly, I would pick them over a host of rivals- even if they get something wrong, they are useful for instruction. And, the DDD presentation makes them easy to listen to. I think they put a lot into their cycle, and it shows.

    BOTTOM LINE: Regardless of any consideration, the Brodsky are a viable choice as a first pick. They are also very valuable in comparisons. They are by no means an "Only" choice, but, with so many "kinder, gentler" cycles now on the market, here's a digital cycle with searing passion and crisp sound.

    VERY VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
    9 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on October 21, 2023
    On two of the CDs there are at least 3 songs that have blank spots of 2 or 3 seconds randomly throughout the song. I don't play the CD because of it.
  • Reviewed in the United States on February 18, 2008
    The Brodsky Quartet recorded this set shortly after performing the complete cycle in a series of London concerts around 1989, and their familiarity with (and passion for) the music show.

    Of the complete quartets CD sets I'm familiar with (2nd Borodin set, Fitzwilliam, Emerson, and this set), the Brodsky performances are probably closest in interpretation to the Fitzwilliam. That is to say, they don't shy away from the drama of the music or speed through it, and they are technically accomplished, turning in tight and nimble performances.

    The Brodsky Quartet is the most rhythmically exciting of the ensembles I've heard play this music. The staccatos here are the liveliest, and where Shostakovich uses rhythms borrowed from popular music styles, the Brodsky's handle these rhythms with panache. Their other great strengths are 1.) their handling of the operatic moments (such as the second movement of the second quartet, "Recitative And Romance: Adagio"), and 2.) their overall sense of dynamics. Shostakovich is nothing if not varied in this music, which can go from lullaby-sweet melodies to intense polyphonic and polyrhymic angst-ridden climaxes in a matter of a few measures. This last point is a matter of taste, of course. Listeners who prefer the Emerson set seem to value the more consistent approach taken by that ensemble. The 8th quartet, one of the peaks of this cycle, is very strong here, as it's dark drama showcases the Broksky's strengths.

    Sonically, the balances are as good as the Fitzwilliam set, though the Fitzwilliam Quartet's tone is unmatched in richness from top to bottom (at times sounding like a minature symphony orchestra). The Brodsky Quartet has a slightly thinner sound than the Fitzwilliam, a sound very comparable to that of the Borodin in their second recording of this music. But this is not to say that the sound here gets in the way of the enjoyment, and in truth it's as good or better than the rest of the competition.

    If I could have only one set, I'd probably choose this set, though I'd miss the Fitzwilliam performances, some of which surpass individual quartets here. This music is so wide-ranging that the situation is a little like the role of Violetta in Verdi's La Traviata--no one artist can do everything perfectly and turn in a truly definitive performance. The Emerson Quartet, for example, can do the neo-classical moments in the music like no one else, and a couple of their individual quartet performances have won me over (though their set overall is my least favorite).

    Nice that WEA finally issued this as a mid-price set so that more people might sample it.
    34 people found this helpful
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  • Client d'Amazon
    5.0 out of 5 stars ok
    Reviewed in France on April 10, 2019
  • 金田
    5.0 out of 5 stars 3番が魅力的
    Reviewed in Japan on December 25, 2023
    8,11,15番が傑作。個人的には13番も好み。2番はベートーヴェン四重奏団に一歩ひけるかな?なおこのカルテットは他にツェムリンスキーの弦楽四重奏曲など録音している。
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  • Cliente Amazon
    5.0 out of 5 stars SHOSTAKOVICH: The String Quartets
    Reviewed in Spain on June 14, 2020
    Me ha gustado la compra y su rapidez y precio
  • Chris Dell
    5.0 out of 5 stars Fond memories of a live performance
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 24, 2023
    Having recently had the pleasure of hearing the Kucharsky String Quartet in concert at St John's Art Centre in Old Harlow where the four charming ladies played the eighth quartet by Shostakovich, I was inspired to delve further by ordering the whole set by the composer. From those on offer I chose the Brodsky Quartet six-disc set from its very reasonable price and positive reviews. I have not been disappointed and their performance of No. 8 brought back fond memories of the recent live concert. The liner notes deserve a mention as they provide sufficient background to each of the 15 Quartets for those unfamiliar with the music. I thoroughly recommend this recording.
  • manuel
    4.0 out of 5 stars Muy buena calidad interpretativa
    Reviewed in Spain on February 21, 2019
    Me gusta mucho la interpretación del cuarteto Brodsky, muy limpia y virtuosistica, la grabación me ha gustado menos, quizás en algún sitio un poco baja de señal, pero lo recomiendo totalmente con los 15 cuartetos en 3 discos.