Coming Soon,
The Borodin Quartet sign to Decca
It was announced last week that the formidable Borodin Quartet have signed an exclusive recording contract with Decca Classics, and will be kicking off their association with a cycle of Shostakovich string quartets. To borrow an analogy from Only Fools and Horses, the Borodins are the 'Trigger's Broom' of the chamber-music world - over the course of the past seven decades the line-up has altered to the extent that none of the original members remain, but that unique big-boned, symphonic sound has been preserved and passed down through the changing ranks so that the Quartet remain one of the most recognisable ensembles around.
Founded in 1945 as the Moscow Conservatoire Quartet (they switched to their current name ten years later, though all members of the ensemble have been alumni of the Conservatoire), the group quickly established a close working relationship with Dmitri Shostakovich, workshopping many of his quartets as they evolved and eventually recording a complete cycle for Melodiya in the 1960s and another (including Nos. 14 and 15, which had been composed in the interim) in the late 1970s/early 80s. Other eminent collaborators over the years have included Sviatoslav Richter and Msitslav Rostropovich (in fact one of the founders of the group, though his official membership was very short-lived)
A year-long world tour (kicking off at the end of this month) will also form part of the anniversary celebrations, taking in Amsterdam's Concertgebouw, London's Wigmore Hall and Tokyo's Bunka Kaikan, as well as a short residency at the Vancouver Playhouse and a visit to the Shostakovich Festival in Gohrisch, Saxony.
Following hot on the heels of last week's announcement, the first volume of the Quartet's new Shostakovich cycle - Nos. 1, 8 and 14, plus the 1931 Elegy and Polka - will be released at the end of March.
Available Formats: MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Selected recordings by the Borodin Quartet
(You can browse their full available discography here.)
In 1961, the Quartet made a legendary visit to the Salzburg Festival, where they gave the Salzburg premiere of Shostakovich's String Quartet No. 8 (written the previous year), alongside Brahms's String Quartet No. 2 and the Ravel String Quartet.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC
More recently, the Quartet marked their sixtieth anniversary with this programme of (of course!) Borodin, Rachmaninov, Schubert, Tchaikovsky and Webern: of the Quartet No. 2 by their namesake, MusicWeb observed that 'it is easy to feel the players’ deep sympathy for and understanding of music that they must have played literally hundreds of times.'
Available Formats: MP3, FLAC
Described on the Quartet's website as 'perhaps [their] most outstanding achievement in the twenty-first century', their survey of the complete Beethoven string quartets on Chandos followed extensive live performances around the world in celebration of their sixtieth anniversary.
Available Formats: 8 CDs, MP3, FLAC
The Borodin's interpretations of Haydn Op. 33 (their third recording for Onyx, released in 2011) were praised by Gramophone as 'readings that are remarkable for their consistency of tone and security of technique.'
Available Formats: MP3, FLAC
Chris O'Reilly - Chief Executive
