This is a handy set, even if individual performances have been bettered elsewhere. It contains (on three discs) all of Shostakovich’s important non-string-quartet chamber works. The performances of the Piano Quintet and Piano Trio No. 2, by Edward Auer and various string-playing associates, are very good, if perhaps lacking the manic energy and pain-wracked tension that the Borodin Trio & Co. (Chandos) bring to the music. Similarly, the Cello Sonata is well done by Timora Rosler (cello) and Klára Würtz, while Colin Stone handles the two piano sonatas with aplomb and more than sufficient technical facility (Shostakovich’s piano writing is rarely difficult in the conventional sense of being note-ridden and overtly flashy).
The best performances, though, are the Violin and Viola Sonatas, with Isabelle van Keulen (always a pleasure) and Ronald Brautigam. The latter work in particular, given a much more swift and positive interpretation than usual, especially in the concluding Adagio, will come as a relief to those put off by performances that stretch the finale to nearly 20 minutes. There’s more meat on the bones of these late works than many renditions allow, and it’s good to hear the artists willing to dig in and let the music sing, at least as much as it seems to want to. This set, in very decent sound, provides an easy way to round out your Shostakovich collection. Just don’t listen to all three discs at once.
