Mandelring Quartet - Shostakovich: Complete String Quartets (2006-2009) (5 СD Set) REPOST

Recorded between 2005 and 2009, and released as separate discs, the Mandelring Quartet's recordings of the complete string quartets of Dmitry Shostakovich have received considerable critical praise and a growing audience. The Mandelring Quartet plays with unflinching resolve, sympathetic expression, incisive attacks, and penetrating tone, which are all necessary in Shostakovich's sardonic and frequently bitter language. The group really digs into the music to reveal all the pain and grief that underlie the surface vitality and brilliance, and is especially impressive in the last five string quartets, which are some of the darkest works Shostakovich ever conceived. The recording is spacious and vibrant, and its lovely acoustic quality may seem to take away some of the quartet's edginess and immediacy, but the Mandelring Quartet still communicates everything it intends, and there are many awe-inspiring passages where the ensemble brings its full force to bear on the listener, sparing nothing.

The Mandelring Quartet, made up of three siblings plus violist Roland Glassl, offers a strong, unified performance in its first volume of the complete cycle of Shostakovich string quartets. Save for a few moments of questionable intonation in the first violin part, this recording has a great deal to offer. The balance is quite good, which is something not always achieved by other ensembles recording this cycle. The cello in particular excels at rising above the rest of the ensemble when it carries the melodic line. In music that is all about contrast and disparity, it is refreshing to hear this quartet shift easily between stark, glass-like playing and aggressive, forceful sections without ever jarring the listener. The overall sound quality of the recording is generally quite nice, but at times the quartet sounds far away and not as "in your face" as some listeners may prefer for these works. A clear distinction is made between the gentler, neo-Classical first quartet and the more brusque, energized second quartet that marks the beginning of Shostakovich's music as a political tool. The liner notes provide an adequate, basic overview of the chronology of the quartets' place in Russian history and the repercussions Shostakovich faced for his brazen opposition to his government, all of which is intrinsically necessary for the appreciation of these intimate masterpieces. ~ allmusic

Tracklist
1. String Quartet No. 1 in C major, Op. 49: Moderato
2. String Quartet No. 1 in C major, Op. 49: Moderato
3. String Quartet No. 1 in C major, Op. 49: Allegro molto
4. String Quartet No. 1 in C major, Op. 49: Allegro
5. String Quartet No. 2 in A major, Op. 68: Ouvertüre. Moderato con moto
6. String Quartet No. 2 in A major, Op. 68: Rezitativ und Romanze. Adagio
7. String Quartet No. 2 in A major, Op. 68: Valse. Allegro
8. String Quartet No. 2 in A major, Op. 68: Theme with Variations. Adagio - Moderato con moto - Allegretto - Allegro non troppo - Allegr
9. String Quartet No. 4 in D major, Op. 83: Allegretto
10. String Quartet No. 4 in D major, Op. 83: Andantino
11. String Quartet No. 4 in D major, Op. 83: Allegretto
12. String Quartet No. 4 in D major, Op. 83: Allegretto

The Mandelring Quartet's sharp, edgy, and hard approach, which hasn't worked so well in recordings of Brahms and Schubert, is just the ticket for tackling Soviet modernist repertoire. This, the quartet's second volume of the string quartets of Shostakovich, validates that approach yet again with performances that just feel right. There is a fiery, harrowing quality to the sound and musical choices that suits Shostakovich's uniquely pessimistic world view, and one gets the sense that the musicians are really under the music's skin. Because the Sixth Quartet is less anguished by nature, the point and thrust of the Mandelring Quartet is less appropriate, and thus less persuasive in that work. Still, this disc is well worth hearing by fans of the works, particularly in Audite's wonderfully immediate super audio sound. ~ allmusic

Tracklist
1. String Quartet No. 3 in F major, Op. 73: Allegretto
2. String Quartet No. 3 in F major, Op. 73: Moderato con moto
3. String Quartet No. 3 in F major, Op. 73: Allegro non troppo
4. String Quartet No. 3 in F major, Op. 73: Adagio
5. String Quartet No. 3 in F major, Op. 73: Moderato
6. String Quartet No. 6 in G major, Op. 101: Allegretto
7. String Quartet No. 6 in G major, Op. 101: Moderato con moto
8. String Quartet No. 6 in G major, Op. 101: Lento
9. String Quartet No. 6 in G major, Op. 101: Allegretto
10. String Quartet No. 8 in C minor, Op. 110: Largo
11. String Quartet No. 8 in C minor, Op. 110: Allegro molto
12. String Quartet No. 8 in C minor, Op. 110: Allegretto
13. String Quartet No. 8 in C minor, Op. 110: Largo
14. String Quartet No. 8 in C minor, Op. 110: Largo

Hard-cornered, sharp-edged, and superbly played, the Mandelring Quartett's series of performances of Shostakovich's string quartets recorded for the Audite label are splendid examples of the modernist-internationalist manner. In this third volume featuring the Fifth, Seventh, and Ninth quartets, the Mandelring delivers clear, direct performance of the fast movements and dry-eyed performances of the slow movements. The Allegro non troppo that starts the Fifth is clean and rhythmically driven, while the Allegro fugue that starts the closing movement of the Seventh is air-tight and crisply articulated. Listeners used to the more soulful Borodin and Shostakovich quartets' recordings of these works may miss the emotional ambiguity of the Ninth's opening Moderato con moto and the lyrical tenderness of the Seventh's consoling coda. But listeners who already know these standard-repertoire works and are looking for challenging new recordings of them could do much worse than to try the Mandelring's discs, particularly in Audite's "you are there" super audio sound. ~ allmusic

Tracklist
1. String Quartet No. 5 in B flat major, Op. 92: Allegro non troppo
2. String Quartet No. 5 in B flat major, Op. 92: Andante
3. String Quartet No. 5 in B flat major, Op. 92: Moderato
4. String Quartet No. 7 in F sharp minor, Op. 108: Allegretto
5. String Quartet No. 7 in F sharp minor, Op. 108: Lento
6. String Quartet No. 7 in F sharp minor, Op. 108: Allegro
7. String Quartet No. 9 in E flat major, Op. 117: Moderato con moto
8. String Quartet No. 9 in E flat major, Op. 117: Adagio
9. String Quartet No. 9 in E flat major, Op. 117: Allegretto
10. String Quartet No. 9 in E flat major, Op. 117: Adagio
11. String Quartet No. 9 in E flat major, Op. 117: Allegro

In the penultimate volume of its complete cycle of the Shostakovich string quartets, the Mandelring Quartet begins tackling the dark, ominous quartets composed in the last years of Shostakovich's life. By the time Shostakovich was writing the Tenth Quartet, his health was rapidly deteriorating and he was increasingly called upon to deliver speeches and statements with which he did not often agree. This dark period in the composer's life directly translates into his music, especially his string quartets. From the seemingly innocuous beginning of the Tenth to the frenetic, insect-like tumult of the Twelfth (in which he even experimented with twelve-tone serialism) to the lyrical homage of the Fourteenth, these works offer great interpretive and technical challenges to performers. As in previous volumes, the Mandelring Quartet meets all of these challenges and continues to exceed expectations. Its playing can be quite dry and brusque, which makes it an ideal choice for the aggressive, ferocious moments in these late quartets. But they are also equally capable of producing a glass-like stillness when called for by the composer. Balance in the ensemble is superb, and every note in every instrument is far more audible than in cycles produced by other quartets. ~ allmusic

Tracklist
1. String Quartet No. 10 in A flat, Op. 118: Andante
2. String Quartet No. 10 in A flat, Op. 118: Allegretto furioso
3. String Quartet No. 10 in A flat, Op. 118: Adagio
4. String Quartet No. 10 in A flat, Op. 118: Allegretto
5. String Quartet No. 12 in D flat major, Op. 133: Moderato
6. String Quartet No. 12 in D flat major, Op. 133: Allegretto
7. String Quartet No. 14 in F sharp major, Op. 142: Allegretto
8. String Quartet No. 14 in F sharp major, Op. 142: Adagio
9. String Quartet No. 14 in F sharp major, Op. 142: Allegretto

The fifth and final volume in the Mandelring Quartett's survey of the complete string quartets of Dmitry Shostakovich has the same virtues as its earlier volumes: a hard-edged tone coupled with clear-eyed interpretations recorded in "you-are-there" sound. While those qualities served them well in the composer's early and middle quartets, they come up short in these late works. There are no technical flaws beyond slight lapses in intonation, and the ensemble is tight even in the most taxing passages. But these late works demand more than a merely clear-eyed interpretation. Everything in the scores is precisely articulated and superbly balanced here, but there are qualities implicit in the music that are apparently beyond the grasp of the players, and anyone who knows these works will miss the Eleventh Quartet's fear, the Thirteenth Quartet's terror, and the Fifteenth Quartet's bone-deep dread. Delivering well-played performances is one thing, but turning in performances that make the listener tremble with existential horror is quite another. For the real thing in this repertoire, try the recordings by the Borodin Quartet, the Taneyev Quartet, or, best of all, the Beethoven Quartet. ~ allmusic

Tracklist
1. String Quartet No. 11 in F minor, Op. 122: Introduktion. Andantino -
2. String Quartet No. 11 in F minor, Op. 122: Scherzo. Allegretto -
3. String Quartet No. 11 in F minor, Op. 122: Rezitativ. Adagio -
4. String Quartet No. 11 in F minor, Op. 122: Etüde. Allegro -
5. String Quartet No. 11 in F minor, Op. 122: Humoreske. Allegro -
6. String Quartet No. 11 in F minor, Op. 122: Elegie. Adagio -
7. String Quartet No. 11 in F minor, Op. 122: Finale. Moderato
8. String Quartet No. 13 in B flat minor, Op. 138
9. String Quartet No. 15 in E flat minor, Op. 144: Elegie. Adagio -
10. String Quartet No. 15 in E flat minor, Op. 144: Serenade. Adagio -
11. String Quartet No. 15 in E flat minor, Op. 144: Intermezzo. Adagio -
12. String Quartet No. 15 in E flat minor, Op. 144: Nocturne. Adagio -
13. String Quartet No. 15 in E flat minor, Op. 144: Trauermarsch. Adagio molto -
14. String Quartet No. 15 in E flat minor, Op. 144: Epilog. Adagio