The Soviet Experience Volume II: String Quartets by Dmitri Shostakovich and his Contemporaries

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The expected rhetoric and terror of Shostakovich's Soviet armour are here carefully measured with universal frameworks of great sonic beauty, whether fragile or strong: Beethoven, thank goodness,... — BBC Music Magazine, August 2012, 5 out of 5 stars More…

Release Date: 27th Feb 2012
Catalogue No: CDR90000130
Label: Cedille
Series: The Soviet Experience
Length: 2 hours 7 minutes

Usually despatched in 3 - 4 working days

Shostakovich: String Quartet No. 1 in C Major, Op. 49

Work length14:28

$4.00

$5.20

Pacifica Quartet

I. Moderato

Track length4:16

$1.00

$1.30

II. Moderato

Track length4:44

$1.00

$1.30

III. Allegro molto

Track length2:12

$1.00

$1.30

IV. Allegro

Track length3:16

$1.00

$1.30

Shostakovich: String Quartet No. 2 in A major, Op. 68

Work length35:01

$9.00

$11.60

Pacifica Quartet

I. Overture. Moderato con moto

Track length8:22

$2.00

$2.60

II. Recitative and Romance. Adagio

Track length10:28

$3.00

$3.85

III. Waltz. Allegro

Track length5:23

$1.00

$1.30

IV. Theme with Variations. Adagio

Track length10:48

$3.00

$3.85

Shostakovich: String Quartet No. 4 in D major, Op. 83

Work length25:11

$6.00

$7.75

Pacifica Quartet

I. Allegretto

Track length4:10

$1.00

$1.30

II. Andantino

Track length6:43

$1.00

$1.30

III. Allegretto

Track length4:17

$1.00

$1.30

IV. Allegretto

Track length10:01

$3.00

$3.85

Shostakovich: String Quartet No. 3 in F major, Op. 73

Work length31:02

$6.00

$7.80

Pacifica Quartet

I. Allegretto

Track length6:57

$1.00

$1.30

II. Moderato con moto

Track length5:00

$1.00

$1.30

III. Allegro non troppo

Track length3:59

$1.00

$1.30

IV. Adagio

Track length6:14

$1.00

$1.30

V. Moderato

Track length8:52

$2.00

$2.60

Prokofiev: String Quartet No. 2 in F major, Op. 92

Work length22:04

$5.00

$6.50

Pacifica Quartet

I. Allegro sostenuto

Track length6:25

$1.00

$1.30

II. Adagio

Track length7:27

$2.00

$2.60

III. Allegro

Track length8:12

$2.00

$2.60

About
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About

The Soviet Experience is the first Shostakovich quartet cycle to include works by other important composers of the Soviet era, adding variety and perspective to the listening experience.

This superbly performed series of audiophile recordings, produced and engineered by multiple Grammy Award winner Judith Sherman, will appeal to everyone interested in great Russian music of the 20th century.

Volume 1 received universal praise on both sides of the Atlantic and was included on the best classical albums of 2011 lists of The New York Times, Chicago Tribune, The New Yorker, San Jose Mercury News, Newark Star-Ledger, and St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Reviews

August 2012

The expected rhetoric and terror of Shostakovich's Soviet armour are here carefully measured with universal frameworks of great sonic beauty, whether fragile or strong: Beethoven, thank goodness, looms larger than Stalin...[in Prokofiev's String Quartet No. 2] the Pacifica Quartet's sophisticated teamwork is stretched to the limits, but it works beautifully.

12th May 2012

It adds up to another powerful listening experience.

August 2012

Their playing is always clean and well focused - tonally, technically and interpretatively. But it works best, I feel, when the musical character itself is clear-cut...if you are looking for excellent modern recording and clean playing, plus the bonus of extra revelant repertoire, or if you are allergic to overstatement in Shostakovich, then there is certainly much to enjoy...But if a distinctive interpretative angle is your priority, I would advise looking elsewhere

August 2012

The playing is excellent throughout, with no sense of strain and perfect tuning between the various members of the quartet. They can well withstand the close balance of the recorded sound to which they are subjected...Certainly there is much to admire in these excellent, civilised and deeply considered performances.

29th April 2012

These Shostakovich quartets present vast musical and psychological challenges...[the Prokofiev's] originality is telling: the sinewy, heterophonic workings of folk material in its second movement here sound like music from much later.

10th May 2012

exceptional both in the musicians’ maturity and breadth of expression and in the sheer humanity and emotional force of the playing...Everything about these performances points to an ensemble with an acute understanding of the music’s implications and with a capacity to communicate it freshly by means of a broad, astutely applied spectrum of timbre and a compelling blend of immediacy and intimacy.

The Independent on Sunday 15th April 2012

the maturity of an experienced composer is clear, his music dynamically and compellingly realised here.

The Soviet Experience Volume II

2 CDs

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