Classical

Borodin Quartet - Barber, Hindemith, Schonberg (2005)

2016-08-05T14:58:14Z

Borodin Quartet - Barber, Hindemith, Schonberg (2005)

Samuel Barber (1900-1981)
String Quartet in B minor, Op. 11
1. Molto allegro appassionato
2. Molto adagio
3. Molto allegro

Paul Hindemith (1895-1963)
String Quartet №3, Op. 22
4. Fugato
5. Schnelle Achtel
6. Ruige Viertel
7. Massing schnelle Halbe
8. Rondo

Arnold Schonberg (1874-1951)
String Quatet №2 in F sharp minor Op. 10
9. Massig (Modersto)
10. Sehr rash
11. Litany. Langsam
12. Entrueckung. Sehr langsam

Rostislav Dubinsky – violin  (1-8)
Yaroslav Alexandrov – violin  (1-8)
Dmitry Shebalin – viola	(1-8)
Valentin Berlinsky – cello    (1-8)

M. Kopelman – violin   (9-12)
A. Abramenkov – violin   (9-12)
Dmitry Shebalin – viola	(9-12)
Valentin Berlinsky – cello    (9-12)

Lyudmila Belograbina  (11,12)

Samuel Barber's first and only string quartet didn't end up the way he intended it to, for the second movement eventually overshadowed the entire opus when he transcribed it for string orchestra as the Adagio for Strings. In addition, a projected last movement never really came together, and the piece as a whole became marked as a vehicle for bringing the Adagio to life. The first movement has merit, however, in that it shows Barber experimenting with a style somewhat removed from his usual hyper-melodic idiom. Barber composed the piece in the summer of 1936 at St. Wolfgang, Austria, a small mountain town near Salzburg, where he and Gian Carlo Menotti had rented a cottage. It was premiered at the American Academy in Rome by the Pro Arte Quartet in December of the same year. The finished work has two movements. The first, Molto allegro e appassionato, is structured in a loose sonata form. Reminiscent of Beethoven and unlike, in terms of rhetoric, most of Barber's works, it is structured around rhythmic motifs rather than on the basis of a central, emotionally charged melody. The second movement, Molto adagio; molto allegro, begins with one of the most famous melodies in history, the slow, sensitive cantilena which became the Adagio for Strings. The second half of the movement, Molto allegro (originally intended to be the last movement) is a rather unexciting and perfunctory recapitulation of first-movement material. ---Graham Olson, Rovi

Paul Hindemith wrote seven String Quartets, all of which reflect the experience and practical assurance of a distinguished violinist and, later, violist. No 3 followed early in 1920 and was an instant success, a thrilling example of Hindemith’s concise imagination at work. This passionate quartet, with its richly varied material, is one of his supreme chamber masterpieces. --- naxos.com

The String Quartet No. 2, Op. 10, of Arnold Schoenberg is one of the key works of musical modernism. Composed between March 1907 and August 1908, its last movement marks the decisive point at which Western art music moved from a tonally based harmonic structure to what has been called an atonal harmonic structure. Prior to the Quartet No. 2, Schoenberg wrote in the highly chromatic post-Wagnerian harmonic language of the fin de siècle, a language that took tonal music to the limits of its coherence by delaying the resolution of dissonances for longer and longer periods. After the Quartet No. 2, Schoenberg, then his pupils and then much of Western art music abandoned tonality for harmonic structures that not only allowed an extremely high level of chromatic dissonance, but which no longer required the resolution of those dissonances.

The Quartet No. 2 itself begins tonally, and its first two movements are, in fact, in F sharp minor. The opening movement is in sonata form with the usual harmonic relation between keys. The second movement is a scherzo with trios, the second of which ends with a quotation from the plague song, Ach, Du Liebe Augustine. The third movement is in E flat minor, one of the most difficult keys for a string player to perform in, and sets Stefan George's poem "Litanei" (Litany) for soprano, the first time a vocalist had been used in a piece of chamber music. The final movement sets another poem by George, entitled "Entruckung" (Transport), for soprano and, although the movement ends on an F sharp major triad, it is for almost all the rest of its length, completely unconcerned with tonal harmonic relationships and structures. Instead, it relies on George's text and motivic relationships to give coherence to the music.

Interestingly, while the opening movements of the Quartet No. 2 are anguished in tone and the third movement is one of the most harrowing pieces Schoenberg was ever to write, the closing movement is calm and even serene in tone, despite being harmonically atonal. In part, the emotional sequence of the quartet is autobiographical: while he was composing the quartet, Schoenberg's wife, Mathilda, left him and their children for the painter Richard Gerstle. Although Mathilda was later persuaded by Schoenberg's pupil Anton Webern to return to her family, her return caused the unstable Gerstle to hang himself, and this in turn caused her to lose her own sanity. Shortly after the completion of the Quartet No. 2, Mathilda was placed in an institution, where she remained for the rest of her of her life. --- James Leonard, Rovi

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Borodin Quartet - Beethoven: String Quartets No. 1-6, Op. 18 (2003)

2016-08-13T14:40:16Z

Borodin Quartet - Beethoven: String Quartets No. 1-6, Op. 18 (2003)

CD1

Ludwig van Beethoven: String Quartet No. 1 in F major, Op. 18, No. 1
I. Allegro con brio
II. Adagio affettuoso ed appassionato
III. Scherzo: Allegro molto - Trio
IV. Allegro

Ludwig van Beethoven: String Quartet No. 2 in G major, Op. 18, No. 2
I. Allegro
II. Adagio cantabile - Allegro - Tempo I
III. Scherzo: Allegro - Trio
IV. Allgro molto, quasi presto

Ludwig van Beethoven: String Quartet No. 3 in D major, Op. 18, No. 3
I. Allegro
II. Andante con moto
III. Allegro - Minore - Maggiore
IV. Presto

CD2

Ludwig van Beethoven: String Quartet No. 4 in C minor, Op. 18, No. 4
I. Allegro ma non tanto
II. Scherzo: Andante scherzoso quasi allegretto
III. Menuetto: Allegretto - Trio
IV. Allegro – Prestissimo

Ludwig van Beethoven: String Quartet No. 5 in A major, Op. 18, No. 5
I. Allegro
II. Menuetto - Trio
III. Theme and Variations
IV. Allegro

Ludwig van Beethoven: String Quartet No. 6 in B flat major, Op. 18, No. 6
I. Allegro con brio
II. Adagio ma non troppo
III. Scherzo: Allegro - Trio
IV. La Maliconia: Adagio - Allegretto quasi allegro – Prestissimo

Rostislav Dubinsky – violin  
Yaroslav Alexandrov – violin  
Dmitry Shebalin – viola	
Valentin Berlinsky – cello

This latest release in Chandos' Historical series features the Borodin Quartet in a benchmark performance of Beethoven's Op. 18 String Quartets. Renowned for their tonal refinement and unanimity of ensemble playing, the Quartet achieved legendary status. This archive recording has been freshly remastered to Chandos' usual, uncompromising standards and is available at mid-price. ---arkivmusic.com

In the Op. 18 Quartets, Beethoven appears to be at a stylistic crossroads, bowing with reverence to the traditions of Haydn and Mozart on the one hand while at the same time forging ahead with a more exploratory idiom that anticipates his middle period. To attain an ideal balance between these aspects is problematic, and I am not at all convinced that the Borodin Quartet have managed this in their latest recording. The overriding problem seems to be a lack of charm and joie de vivre in the more graceful sections of the music, the dour approach of the Borodins tending to make the music seem surprisingly limited in its emotional range. Even the sturm und drang of the first movement of the C minor Quartet seems hard-driven rather than passionate and urgent, and the ensuing slow movement lacks the humour and elegance suggested by Beethoven’s marking of Andante scherzoso. Elsewhere, there are moments of rhythmic instability, particularly in the Finales of the F major and G major, and the occasional lack of clarity in articulation that is somewhat uncharacteristic of a quartet with the pedigree of the Borodins. Indeed, one may well ask why Chandos bothered to release this set, given that they issued an historic recording of the Borodins playing the same works only a couple of years ago. Direct comparison between the two versions reveals that despite the immeasurably superior engineering of the present release, the Borodin’s earlier performances are simply irresistible and convey much of the energy and enthusiasm that is sadly missing here. ---Erik Levi, classical-music.com

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Borodin Quartet - Haydn & Beethoven (1968)

2016-08-28T09:05:29Z

Borodin Quartet - Haydn: String Quartet No.5 Beethoven: String Quartet No.11 (1968)

JOSEPH HAYDN - String Quartet No.5 in D major, Op.64 "The Lark" (1790) 
I.Allegro moderato 
II.Adagio 
III.Menuetto 
IV.Finale 

LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN - String Quartet No.11 in F minor, Op.95 "Serioso" (1809) I.Allegro con brio 
II.Allegretto ma non troppo – 
III.Allegro assai 
IV.Larghetto 

The Borodin Quartet: 
Mikhail Kopelman and Andrei Abramenkov, violins 
Dmitri Shebalin, viola 
Valentin Berlinsky, cello 

Recorded in November, 1968

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Borodin Quartet - Johannes Brahms & Maurice Ravel (2006)

2016-08-21T15:24:04Z

Borodin Quartet - Johannes Brahms & Maurice Ravel (2006)

Brahms - Clarinet Quintet in B Minor, Op. 115:
    1. I. Allegro	14:36
    2. II. Adagio	12:53
    3. III. Andantino	5:08
    4. IV. Con moto	9:19

Ravel - Piano Trio in A Minor:
    5. I. Modéré	 9:58
    6. II. Pantoum - Assez vite	4:13
    7. III. Passacaille - Très large	8:21
    8. IV. Final – Animé	5:28

Ivan Mozgovenko – clarinet ( 1- 4)
Lyubov Yedlina – piano (5 – 8)
Rostislav Dubinsky – violin (1 – 8)
Yaroslav Alexandrov – violin (5 – 8)
Dmitry Shebalin – viola (5 – 8)
Valentin Berlinsky – cello (1 – 8)

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Borodin Quartet – Borodin: String Quartets 1 & 2 (2001)

2016-08-17T14:55:55Z

Borodin Quartet – Borodin: String Quartets 1 & 2 (2001)


1. String Quartet No. 1 In A Major: I Moderato - Allegro
2. String Quartet No. 1 In A Minor: II Andante Con Moto - Fugato. Un Poco Piu Mosso
3. String Quartet No. 1 In A Minor: III Scherzo. Prestissimo
4. String Quartet No. 1 In A Minor: IV Andante - Allegro Risoluto
5. String Quartet No. 2 In D Major: I Allegro Moderato
6. String Quartet No. 2 In D Major: II Scherzo. Allegro
7. String Quartet No. 2 In D Major: III Notturno. Andante
8. String Quartet No. 2 In D Major: IV Finale. Andante – Vivace

Rostislav Dubinsky – violin
Yaroslav Alexandrov – violin
Dmitry Shebalin – viola
Valentin Berlinsky – cello

Alexander Borodin was one of those remarkable people who can pursue several equally successful careers. He studied various instruments as a boy, began to compose in his teens, and became famous in music, chemistry, and medicine. His two quartets are thoroughly romantic. The first, heard less frequently, is never less than pleasant and often felicitous, with many lovely melodies; a mournful, very Russian slow movement; and a scintillating, feathery Scherzo, whose Trio, primarily in harmonics, has a celestial sound.

The second quartet is greatly superior and more concise, the thematic material more inspired and better developed. It is famous for its slow movement, "Notturno," a tender, rapturous dialogue between cello and first violin, which has been described as a love scene between Borodin and his wife of 20 years, to whom the work is dedicated. Toward the end, however, it suddenly becomes melancholy, as if in foreboding: Borodin died six years later, only 55 years old.

The playing here is breathtakingly beautiful. The date of the original recording is not mentioned, though on the picture the players look very young. The Quartet was formed by its leader, Rostislav Dubinsky, and cellist Valentin Berlinsky in 1945; the other two members joined in the early '50s. These are the musicians heard on this disc; they played together until 1975, when Dubinsky emigrated to America. The four players are absolutely equal. Their technical command is complete, their ensemble seamlessly integrated, their tone flawlessly pure, smooth as silk, and warm as velvet; the first violin soars radiantly. They bring out every mood and nuance with deep, inward expressiveness, but with a noble restraint that precludes sentimentality; they hardly slide and never exaggerate. The Quartet still exists, but Berlinsky is the only original member left. ---Edith Eisler, amazon.com

The Borodin Quartet's Melodiya recording of Borodin's own two quartets was the winner of a Gramophone Award in 1983, earning more votes than any operatic or choral issue. Lionel Salter, in his original review of the LP, declared that he did not expect to hear the two works ''more persuasively played'', and in September 1986, SJ described the recording as ''a strong contender for CD transfer''. I can only add my praise for these magnificent performances to that of my colleagues, the Russian ensemble (with a different first and second violin from the team that recorded Borodin's Second Quartet for Decca over 20 years ago now deleted—but with the same viola and cello) have the music in their blood and match the need for flexibility of phrasing and rhythm with a unanimity of articulation and intonation that is quite staggering. --- Robin Golding, Gramophone

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Borodin Quartet – Brahms & Mozart (2003)

2016-08-09T11:10:53Z

Borodin Quartet – Brahms & Mozart (2003)

Brahms - Clarinet Quintet in B minor, Op. 115 	
1 I. Allegro	14:41 	
2 II. Adagio	12:52 	
3 III. Andantino - Presto non assai, ma con sentimento	5:08 	
4 IV. Con moto		9:23 	

Mozart - String Quartet No. 15 in D minor, K. 421 (K. 417b) 
5 I. Allegro moderato	5:17 	
6 II. Andante	6:25 	
7 III. Menuetto. Allegretto - Trio	3:47 	
8 IV. Allegretto ma non troppo - Più allegro	5:12 	

Ivan Mozgovenko – clarinet (1 - 4)
Rostislav Dubinsky – violin  
Yaroslav Alexandrov – violin  
Dmitry Shebalin – viola	
Valentin Berlinsky – cello

When Clara Schumann first heard this quintet, she wrote: "It is a really marvelous work, the wailing clarinet takes hold of one; it is most moving. And what interesting music, deep and full of meaning!" These poignant words by Brahms' closest female friend belie Brahms' disingenuous comparison of the work with his earlier Clarinet Trio: "[It is] a far greater piece of foolishness." From the first movement, the music pulsates with yearning. In its opening measures are the seeds that germinate in the rest of composition, which is equally perfect in its power of evocation and its structural rigor. The autumnal mood of the work results in part from the subtle shifts throughout between the closely related keys of D major and B minor.

Most notable is the second movement Adagio, a tender love song whose wistfulness seems to reflect the entire decline of the late Romantic musical ethos. Of course there is more to this piece than its dreamlike evocations. Listen to the Presto, with its Hungarian folk-dance style and the finale's intriguing variations, the last of which returns full circle to the opening theme of the first movement. "Foolishness" indeed! ---Peter Bates, Rovi

The second quartet in the famous series of six dedicated to Haydn -- and the only mature Mozart string quartet in a minor key -- commands our attention at the outset (Allegro) with the drop of an octave from the first violin that ushers in its plaintive main subject. The contrasting second subject is a songful melody over a throbbing background. Mozart shows how much he learned from Haydn (and Bach) in the development, which features a good deal of contrapuntal passagework. Throughout this movement, harmonies are stretched out before being resolved, increasing the emotional tension. The nocturnal slow movement (Andante), in ABA song form and triple meter, is remarkable for the recurring rising three-note figure in the accompaniment, particularly from the cello, that expands the lovely main melody. In the middle section, this is transmuted into a series of little dissonant stabs of pain. The stately minuet (allegretto) is both elegant and deeply, gravely serious; the middle section, with its dancing first violin over a pizzicato accompaniment, provides the greatest possible contrast. The finale (Allegro ma non troppo) is a set of variations on a theme in a 6/8 siciliano rhythm. The prevailing mood is bittersweet, the harmonies rich, the invention consistently fine. A violin figure that appeared at the start of the movement, resembling the call of a cricket, returns to dominate the coda as the music rises in emotional pitch and then sinks into resigned peace. --- Sol Louis Siegel, Rovi

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Borodin Quartet – Prokofiev, Shostakovich, Galynin (2006)

2016-09-04T14:57:15Z

Borodin Quartet – Prokofiev, Shostakovich, Galynin (2006)

	Sergei Prokofiev (1891-1953)
	Second Quartet For Two Violins, Viola And Cello, In F Major, Op. 92 (1941)
1 	Allegro Sostenuto 	6:52
2 	Adagio 	7:18
3 	Allegro 	8:10

	Dmitri Shostakovich (1906-1975)
	Piano Trio No. 2, In E Minor, Op. 64. In Memorian I. I. Sollertinsky
4 	Andante 	8:27
5 	Allegro Con Brio 	3:18
6 	Largo 	5:50
7 	Allegretto 	11:40

	German Galynin (1922-1966)
	Piano Trio In D Minor (1948)
8 	Prelude. Moderato 	4:35
9 	Toccata. Allegro 	2:32
10 	Passacaglia. Andante Sostenuto 	7:04
11 	Fuga. Allegro 	4:59

Cello – Valentin Berlinsky
Piano – Lubov Yedlina (tracks: 4 to 11)
Viola – Dmitry Shebalin (tracks: 1 to 3)
Violin – Rostislav Dubinsky (tracks: 4 to 11), Yaroslav Alexandrov (tracks: 1 to 3)

German Galynin (1922–66) was one of the circle of favored pupils that clustered around Shostakovich beginning in the 1940s at the Moscow Conservatory. He was by several contemporary accounts a talented pianist and composer, gifted with great energy and a highly impulsive nature. These latter characteristics did not always work to his advantage, as musicologist Marina Sabinina recalled years later in Shostakovich: A Life Remembered:

But now a meeting was convoked for students of the Compositional and Musicological Faculty. … The critical moment was reached during the speech of the newly appointed secretary of the Party Bureau of the Conservatory, Semyonov. He succeeded in awakening the auditorium from its apathy when he declared belligerently that, had it not been for the [Zhdanov] Decree which had now restored order, our music would have disintegrated into a state of shameful anarchy: “So any old Shostakovich or any old Prokofiev could have written whatever he felt like.”

At this point the hall erupted. German Galynin, one of Shostakovich’s brightest and most talented pupils, a lad of spontaneous and ungovernable temper who worshiped his teacher, attempted to jump up from his seat. His wife N. Shumskaya and myself … clung on to him and tried to hold him down. … --- Barry Brenesal, arkivmusic.com

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Borodin Quartet – Ravel & Debussy (2005)

2016-07-31T12:20:35Z

Borodin Quartet – Ravel & Debussy (2005)

Maurice Ravel 
 1. String Quartet In F Major: I. Allegro Moderato, Tres Doux
 2. String Quartet In F Major: II. Assez Vif, Tres Rythme
 3. String Quartet In F Major: III. Tres Lent
 4. String Quartet In F Major: IV. Vif Et Agite

Claude Debussy
 5. String Quartet In G Minor, Op.10: I. Anime Et Tres Decide
 6. String Quartet In G Minor, Op.10: II. Assez Vif Et Bien Rythme
 7. String Quartet In G Minor, Op.10: III. Andantino, Doucement Expressif
 8. String Quartet In G Minor, Op.10: IV. Tres Modere - Tres Anime

Rostislav Dubinsky – violin
Yaroslav Alexandrov – violin
Dmitry Shebalin – viola
Valentin Berlinsky – cello

The Borodins are a byword for quality in everything they do, and they have a habit of getting good recordings in addition. It is all here again, just like in the recordings of Shostakovich and of the eponymous Borodin that I already know from them. The playing has the familiar confidence, strength of characterisation, depth and quality of tone, unfailing stylistic grasp and unerring surefootedness that I am coming to know. The recording is first-rate again too, with depth and resonance at no cost to clarity. To hear just how good it can be, try the pizzicato chords at the start of the second movement of Debussy's quartet.

Tempi should give nobody any problem. They are very close indeed to those taken by the Parrenin quartet in a recording I have known and loved down the years but which seems not to be in the current catalogues, the most significant divergence being in the slow movement of the Ravel, taken much more slowly by the Borodins, and with great solemnity and effectiveness.

Both of these quartets are comparatively early works by their respective authors, but both, (Ravel's particularly), are accomplished and already characteristic. Accustomed as I am to the Parrenins I would not say that I find these accounts the last word in some elusive 'Frenchness', but that is not something that exercises me in the slightest. Composers and compositions of this stature transcend nationality, and this disc can be recommended without hesitation to lovers of the works and newcomers alike. ---David Bryson, amazon.com

The similarities between Maurice Ravel's only work for string quartet, the String Quartet in F major, and Claude Debussy's only work for string quartet, the String Quartet in G minor, Op. 10, can hardly be avoided or ignored. During the early years of his career, Ravel was frequently and sometimes vehemently criticized for having copied Debussy, and it was only later that musical society began to realize that, in the realm of piano music at least, it was equally possible that Debussy had imitated his younger colleague. With the String Quartet in F, composed in 1902 and 1903 and then revised up to 1910, however, Ravel seems more certain to have relied on Debussy's 1893 Op. 10; as emotionally, psychologically, and even structurally different as the two works are, one could never accuse them of having a language barrier. But, whereas Debussy's quartet is the work of a headstrong progressive still on his way to developing a mature, personal style, Ravel's is the work of an already mature artist more concerned with craftsmanship and traditional structure than with innovation. Not surprisingly, given their relative places in their careers when the two composers wrote their string quartets, Ravel's is the more sound piece of music and Debussy's is the more groundbreaking. Incidentally, Debussy, by all accounts, adored Ravel's piece, and though it makes the cut by just a couple of years, it is probably the most oft-played string quartet of the twentieth century. Ravel dedicated it to his teacher, Gabriel Fauré.

Ravel's String Quartet is in four movements: Moderato très doux, Assez vif-Très rythmé, Très lent, and Vif et agité. The opening movement's pianissimo second theme is as hollow and melancholy as the first theme is warm and inviting. In the second movement, which serves as the Quartet's scherzo, Ravel moves into the pizzicato world already explored by Debussy in the scherzo movement of his String Quartet; the central portion (one hesitates to call it a "trio section") calls for the players to put mutes on their instruments. Bits of music from earlier in the Quartet can be heard, wearing new clothes, in the slow movement; likewise in the finale, which plunges straight into a frantic 5/4 meter bombast at its start, lightens up in the middle, and then ends in a blaze of zeal. --- Blair Johnston. Rovi

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Borodin Quartet – Stravinsky Shebalin Schnittke (2005)

2016-07-28T15:40:18Z

Borodin Quartet – Stravinsky Shebalin Schnittke (2005)

Stravinsky - Three Pieces For String Quartet
    1. I. Dance    0:52
    2. II. Eccentric	2:08
    3. III. Canticle		3:30
  
Vissarion Shebalin -  String Quartet No. 5 in F Major, Op. 33
    4. I. Moderato - Allegro energico	5:58
    5. II. Andante		5:28
    6. III. Allegretto graciozo e leggier	 3:12
    7. IV. Andante	4:33
    8. V. Allegro energico		7:14

Vissarion Shebalin - String Quartet No. 9 in B Minor, Op. 58
    9. I. Largo – Allegro		7:55
    10. II. Andante		5:37
    11. III. Allegro molto    	5:47

Alfred Schnitke - String Quartet No. 1 (In C)
    12. I. Sonata    	8:39
    13. II. Canon    	4:02
    14. III. Cadenza    	6:33

Borodin Quartet:
Rostislav Dubinsky – violin
Yaroslav Alexandrov – violin
Dmitry Shebalin – viola
Valentin Berlinsky – cello

Founded at the Moscow Conservatory in 1945 by violist (and later conductor) Rudolf Barshai, the Borodin Quartet survived defections and other personnel changes to become regarded as the leading Soviet (and then Russian) quartet of the second half of the twentieth century. Through Barshai, the student group became closely associated with Dmitry Shostakovich, and its later recordings and concerts of that composer's complete quartets are widely regarded as definitive. Although the Borodin Quartet never premiered a Shostakovich quartet, the group worked closely with the composer, who coached the members particularly in matters of tempo. Along with Barshai, the ensemble's first members were violinists Rostislav Dubinsky and Vladimir Rabeiy and cellist Mstislav Rostropovich, who was soon replaced by Valentin Berlinsky. Calling itself the Moscow Philharmonic Quartet, the group gave its first performance in 1946. The ensuing decade was tumultuous; in 1947 Nina Barshai became second violinist, but she made way for Yaroslav Aleksandrov in 1952. In 1954, Rudolf Barshai departed for the new Tchaikovsky Quartet and was replaced by Dmitri Shebalin. Its personnel at last stabilized, the group changed its name to the Borodin Quartet in 1955 and within a few years, the Soviet regime allowed it to tour beyond the Iron Curtain. Conservative critics expressed reservations about the group's supposedly fussy (that is, detailed) interpretations and its readiness to play without vibrato, but the Borodin Quartet nevertheless drew wide praise for its tonal sheen and sure technique. Adding to its cachet was its habit of performing with the venerated but unpredictable pianist Sviatoslav Richter. However, stability ended in the mid-'70s. Aleksandrov took ill in 1974 and was replaced by Andrei Abramenkov; Dubinsky defected to the West in 1976 and was replaced by Mikhail Kopelman. The new lineup claimed less-technical security, but its interpretations continued to draw high praise. After another 20 years, personnel changes again shook the group; in 1996, Shebalin retired and was replaced by Igor Naidin; Kopelman switched to the Tokyo Quartet, his Borodin seat filled by Ruben Aharonian. The ensemble celebrated its 55th anniversary in 2000 by playing the complete quartets of Shostakovich in tandem with those of Beethoven in several major cities. --- James Reel, Rovi

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