Shostakovich Orchetral

Chicago-based Cedille label's ambitious "The Soviet Experience" series continues with this set of early Shostakovich string quartets from the 15 years surrounding World War II, along with one unusual Prokofiev quartet of the same period. In addition to reflecting the situations in which he lived, Shostakovich's quartets deal with a different kind of legacy as well: the Beethovenian tradition of the string quartet as it developed through the 19th century and became an outlet for inward emotion refined into well-crafted melody and counterpoint.

This is the last installment of the Pacifica Quartet’s Shostakovich cycle named “The Soviet Experience” because it adds one quartet by other Russian composers (Miaskovsky, Prokofiev, Weinberg, and Schnittke) to each release. Although there are many performances of the complete Shostakovich quartets available, the Pacifica Quartet’s traversal of these masterpieces is one of the best. Their sheer brilliance of execution, the emotional depth of their interpretation and the stunning sound make this a most desirable set……

Robert Moon @ Audiophile Audition

The baritone Matthias Goerne, the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France and Mikko Franck launch a trilogy of Shostakovich’s works for baritone and orchestra with a recording of Symphony No.14. This will be followed by Symphony no.13 (Babi Yar ) and the Suite on poems by Michelangelo Buonarroti . The soprano Asmik Grigorian joins Matthias Goerne for this monumental yet highly subtle symphony setting poems by García Lorca, Apollinaire, Küchelbecker and Rilke.

The original Borodin Quartet was founded in 1945 in the Soviet Union and this release marks the Quartet’s 70th anniversary. They enjoyed a close relationship with Shostakovich, and often worked with him as a new quartet was written (and they also recorded the cycle).