This generally excellent set of Shostakovich quartets has been dogged by the fact that it has always had to compete with the marvelous Borodin Quartet versions that have circulated variously on EMI and RCA, and now has to contend with several other cycles complete or in progress, not least of which is the Emerson Quartet’s magnificent DG recording. Of course, it has always been lauded in the U.K., but here is a case (and there are some), where the boringly routine Gramophonic effusions emanating from the Sceptr’d Isle have some basis in musical fact. After all, this group did study some of these works with the composer himself, and its versions of the “big” quartets–Nos. 2-4, as well as the last five–still rank with the best, and none of the others is less than very respectable. The Fitzwilliam’s No. 3 is still my favorite version; the players seem to get the tempos just right and know how to approach the climaxes to capture maximum intensity without unnecessary crudeness. Toss in fine recorded sound and Musical Heritage Society’s reasonable price, and this remains a very competitive cycle indeed.
