DeVore Fidelity Record Review: Shostakovich String Quartet Box-Set from Decca London FFSS: brilliant

[@jamesmyers6838]

Thank you, excellent recommendation John! If listeners are a fan of the Shostakovich quartets I would suggest the Benjamin Britten quartets as a follow up. He wrote only three but all are masterpieces. Both Shostakovich and Britten became good friends and greatly admired each other's music. Some favorite recordings of the Britten's are the Belcea and Emerson (2&3), although both only digital.

[@paulm944]

Shostakovich worked directly with the Borodin Quartet while composing his quartets, and many consider those the greatest recordings. Fitzwilliam are fine recordings as well.

[@PhonoPhonoGermany]

Thank you for this video! I bought the Borodin quartets about four years ago and never managed to go beyond 2. quartet. You gave me an idea to try again. So I started my journey through the quartets with Borodin again. Now it made ‚click’. Great music! Again: thank you. See you in October in Berlin 🎶😊

[@DeVOREFIDELITY]

See you in Berlin!

[@sixergixer]

Great review, John. I'm always happy with the music of Shostakovich getting more attention. If anybody thinks to head straight for John's favorite, Quartet No. 12, I'd recommend the recording by the Amati Quartett simply because it is coupled with the truly splendid Piano Quintet in G Minor. You'll be glad you did. 😊

[@Chris.from.1950]

Wow. Thanks, John. I was completely ignorant of these, until now. I started searching while listening to your review, and am, right now, listening to the one that you queued up for us, which has me in its spell. What an amazing, otherworldly beauty! 🙏

[@mikeobrien58a]

These are the exact recordings that sold me on the O/96s. I was at In Living Stereo in NYC in December 2019 (a few months before lockdown), and Steve Mishoe put on an LP of the Fitzwilliam Quartet playing Shostakovich (I don't remember which quartet) and I just sat there transfixed. Just ravishing sound pouring out of the O/96s-and I'm not even a fan of Shostakovich. I stream these recordings from TIDAL every so often, but now you've got me thinking I need to have them on vinyl.

[@DeVOREFIDELITY]

So cool!

[@norbert207]

Super, dass man bei Dir immer "Musik" hört.....und gut hört. :-)

[@Lohensteinio]

The Fitzwilliam set is indeed a great one. I have it on CD.

[@ptbfrch]

Beautiful music! So captivating and inviting to listen.

[@bububarx4559]

I absolutely love those intelligent und profound reviews. In my opinion it would be nice, if you spend a few words about what a great hifi system illuminate in the recording

[@michaelmurray8742]

I have this set on CD. Excellent music

[@samuelreggio1611]

There's a London Decca CD Box set of these that is also excellent.

[@jmal5390]

If memory serves, the Beethoven Quartet actually premiered all of the quartets except the first, which was done by the Glazunov Quartet. These also happen to be my favorite versions.

[@Ivan-Kh]

Interestingly, the pressing you're holding here doesn't seem to be on Discogs. They list three versions on Decca (with the Decca logo in the top right) and only one Japanese pressing on London with a different cover image. You should add that one to Discogs!