Tír Na HiFi

Dmitri Shostakovich
String Quartet No. 1
String Quartet No. 3
Borodin Quartet

Seán wrote:

fergus wrote:Beethoven: Symphony No. 6 from this set....

A magnificent recording. I have, on occasion, reached for an umbrella when I hear the BPO storm sequence. LOL!

It is a pretty good storm all right!

Seán wrote:

Johann Sebastian Bach
Brandenburg Concerto No. 6 BWV 1051
Academy of Ancient Music
Richard Edgar Directing & Harpsichord.

The one with no violins; how did you get on with that one Seán?

Seán wrote:

Dmitri Shostakovich
String Quartet No. 1
String Quartet No. 3
Borodin Quartet

Light, lyrical and accessible, yes/no?

Piano Concerto: A first listen to this work for me and I really enjoyed it. I found the music to be accessible, interesting and varied. Interestingly, I particularly enjoyed the orchestration which I thought was wonderful.

Violin Concerto: A first listen to this work also and I found it to be an intriguing work that held me captivated with its variety and invention.

fergus wrote:

Seán wrote:

Dmitri Shostakovich
String Quartet No. 1
String Quartet No. 3
Borodin Quartet

Light, lyrical and accessible, yes/no?

Yes and No. The final movement of the third quartet is a bit hectic shall we say other than that they are splendid pieces beautifully played by the Borodin and nicely recorded by Chandos, in essence it has the makings of a terrific set.

fergus wrote:


Piano Concerto: A first listen to this work for me and I really enjoyed it. I found the music to be accessible, interesting and varied. Interestingly, I particularly enjoyed the orchestration which I thought was wonderful.

Violin Concerto: A first listen to this work also and I found it to be an intriguing work that held me captivated with its variety and invention.

I have never had the motivation to explore Britten's music world, perhaps I should do so. I am struggling to get through my collection as it is. LOL

Seán wrote:

Yes and No. The final movement of the third quartet is a bit hectic shall we say other than that they are splendid pieces beautifully played by the Borodin and nicely recorded by Chandos, in essence it has the makings of a terrific set.

I have the Borodins playing the complete cycle on the Melodiya label Seán. It has been my only cycle for many years and I really like it. However I purchased a second cycle recently and your post prompted me to break it open and post my first listen to the Fitzwilliam Quartet version of Quartets 1 & 2 [CD 1]....

Seán wrote:

fergus wrote:

I have never had the motivation to explore Britten's music world, perhaps I should do so. I am struggling to get through my collection as it is. LOL

Neither did I Sean until recently and boy am I glad that I did. I think that it is wonderful music and the more that I hear of it the more that I like it!

fergus wrote:


Piano Concerto: A first listen to this work for me and I really enjoyed it. I found the music to be accessible, interesting and varied. Interestingly, I particularly enjoyed the orchestration which I thought was wonderful.

Violin Concerto: A first listen to this work also and I found it to be an intriguing work that held me captivated with its variety and invention.

I love both of those works. Sadly not all that often heard in concert.