Starter Packs

Complete your collection with these curated titles, grouped at a special discount.

Shop Now
Borodin: The Two String Quartets / St. Petersburg Quartet
Sono Luminus

Borodin: The Two String Quartets / St. Petersburg Quartet

$18.99 Only 3 left

Details

Composer
BORODIN, ALEXANDER
Artist
ST. PETERSBURG STRING QUARTET
Format
CD
Label
Sono Luminus
Released
Oct 02, 2001
Catalog #
DOR-90307
UPC
053479030726

About

Alexander Borodin's Second String Quartet has vastly superceded the First in popularity. Musicologists tend to bemoan this fact, citing the earlier work's greater compositional ingenuity. Yet most listeners are understandably drawn to Quartet No. 2's irresistible tunefulness (two of its melodies were used as songs in the Broadway musical Kismet). The St. Petersburg Quartet emphasizes the intellectual rigor of No. 1, making a connection between it and Beethoven's late quartets. The playing, with its smoothness and clean intensity, lends an especially bleak cast to the rhapsodic Andante con moto, sounding here like a precursor to the quartets of Shostakovich.

This ensemble takes a more lyrical approach for No. 2, which is full of feeling yet maintains a strong sense of line (the first movement's argument is seamlessly realized here). Both performances are quite satisfying and are recorded in wonderfully clear, detailed, dynamically realistic sound by Dorian. Fine as these performances are, the Borodin Quartet on EMI displays even greater imagination throughout both performances (especially in the finale of No. 2), and a more deeply felt passion (No. 1's first movement and No. 2's Notturno). However, the cavernous Melodiya recording tends to blur some detail and adds an element of gigantism to the readings. So, it looks like the Dorian is the more generally recommendable version. It's quite enjoyable, and if you don't know these pieces, you've got quite a treat in store.

--Victor Carr Jr., ClassicsToday.com

Tracklist 8 tracks

  1. 1 I. Moderato - Allegro 12:08
    Track
    1
    Title
    I. Moderato - Allegro
    Duration
    12:08
    Composer
    Alexander Borodin
    Ensemble
    St. Petersburg String Quartet
  2. 2 II. Andante con moto - Fugato: Un poco più moso 07:36
    Track
    2
    Title
    II. Andante con moto - Fugato: Un poco più moso
    Duration
    07:36
    Composer
    Alexander Borodin
    Ensemble
    St. Petersburg String Quartet
  3. 3 III. Scherzo: Prestissimo 04:59
    Track
    3
    Title
    III. Scherzo: Prestissimo
    Duration
    04:59
    Composer
    Alexander Borodin
    Ensemble
    St. Petersburg String Quartet
  4. 4 IV. Andante - Allegro risoluto 10:35
    Track
    4
    Title
    IV. Andante - Allegro risoluto
    Duration
    10:35
    Composer
    Alexander Borodin
    Ensemble
    St. Petersburg String Quartet
  5. 5 I. Allegro moderato 08:46
    Track
    5
    Title
    I. Allegro moderato
    Duration
    08:46
    Composer
    Alexander Borodin
    Ensemble
    St. Petersburg String Quartet
  6. 6 II. Scherzo: Allegro 05:14
    Track
    6
    Title
    II. Scherzo: Allegro
    Duration
    05:14
    Composer
    Alexander Borodin
    Ensemble
    St. Petersburg String Quartet
  7. 7 III. Notturno: Andante 08:11
    Track
    7
    Title
    III. Notturno: Andante
    Duration
    08:11
    Composer
    Alexander Borodin
    Ensemble
    St. Petersburg String Quartet
  8. 8 IV. Finale: Andante - Vivace 06:20
    Track
    8
    Title
    IV. Finale: Andante - Vivace
    Duration
    06:20
    Composer
    Alexander Borodin
    Ensemble
    St. Petersburg String Quartet