Kopelman Quartet - Shostakovich & Miaskovsky: String Quartets (2008)

Tracklist

01. String Quartet No. 13 in A Minor, Op. 86: I. Moderato
02. String Quartet No. 13 in A Minor, Op. 86: II. Presto fantastico
03. String Quartet No. 13 in A Minor, Op. 86: III. Andante con moto e molto cantabile
04. String Quartet No. 13 in A Minor, Op. 86: IV. Molto vivo, energico
05. String Quartet No. 1 in C Major, Op. 49: I. Moderato
06. String Quartet No. 1 in C Major, Op. 49: II. Moderato
07. String Quartet No. 1 in C Major, Op. 49: III. Allegro molto
08. String Quartet No. 1 in C Major, Op. 49: IV. Allegro
09. String Quartet No. 8 in C Minor, Op. 110: I. Largo
10. String Quartet No. 8 in C Minor, Op. 110: II. Allegro molto
11. String Quartet No. 8 in C Minor, Op. 110: III. Allegretto
12. String Quartet No. 8 in C Minor, Op. 110: IV. Largo
13. String Quartet No. 8 in C Minor, Op. 110: V. Largo

Shostakovich did not turn to the string quartet until 1938, after he had already successfully completed the first five of his symphonies. Shostakovich himself admits that this first foray into the form began more as an exercise that eventually consumed him. The first quartet displays a sense of lightness, ease, and even at times frivolity that would reappear in the subsequent 14 quartets. The eighth quartet, also included on this album, did not appear until 1960 and is of a completely opposite nature from the first: savage, tragic, and full of despair. Somewhere in the middle of these two polar emotional states comes the swan song Thirteenth Quartet of Nikolay Myaskovsky, one of Shostakovich's ardent supporters and would-be teachers. Performing these three emotionally diverse quartets is the Kopelman Quartet, a group of former students at the Moscow Conservatoire in the 1970s who did not come together to form a standing ensemble until 2002. Their interpretive insight is reflective of their early instructors, who included Shostakovich himself. Possessing a quintessential Russian sound, the quartet digs into its instruments deeply, producing a very intense, urgent sound, even quiet, still moments. What's nice to see is that in the lighter passages found in Shostakovich's First Quartet and even in the Myaskovsky, the group is able to shift gears and play with a satisfying sense of playfulness. Balance within the ensemble is quite good, although intonation is sometimes a struggle for the violins in their highest registers.