The second recording for ONYX from one of the great string quartets of our time. Borodin’s precocious first quartet is coupled with the imposing 13th quartet by Myaskovsky, a composer who is slowly emerging from the shadow cast by Shostakovich and Prokofiev. His is a major voice in 20th - century Russian music from the Soviet period.
"With a new cellist in place, the ensemble continue to play with a romantic warmth that has made them pre-eminent among string quartets. Such heat is vital for their namesake’s First Quartet - ambling at times but delicious. After neo-classical asperity (Stravinsky’s Concertino), the CD reaches Myaskovsky’s Thirteenth. Some of its harmonies and demeanour seem antique in a work composed in 1949. But it’s music of substance, packed with activity and colour, and the Borodins do it full justice." *****
Geoff Brown
