En direct, Vidéo: Rechercher des critiques de musique classique, opéra et ballet | Quatuor à cordes no. 7 en fa dièse mineur, Op.108

A tasting menu of string quartet movements interspersed with readings made for an absorbing afternoon. 

The Brodsky Quartet deliver deeply moving performances of all 15 Shostakovich string quartets, with added value and insight from writers Elizabeth Wilson and Marina Frolova-Walker. 

The eminent Borodin Quartet brought a programme of Shostakovich and Beethoven with them to the Wigmore Hall – two composers they are very closely associated with. 

Die Interpretationen des Quatuor Sine Nomine waren in sich musikalisch geschlossen, überzeugend, dabei nie mit kalter Perfektion präsentiert oder auf Hochglanz getrimmt: ein begeisternder Quartett-Abend!

Performed chronologically in the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, The Globe’s candlelit Jacobean theatre, the 15 Shostakovich string quartets made an astonishing impression in such concentrated form. 

As part of the City of London Festival 2013, the Nash Ensemble delivered a varied mixture of works loosely connected by the ubiquitous Britten theme. This hotchpotch-style approach has worked very well indeed for the Nash for nearly 50 years, and tonight’s concert was no exception.

Have you been to Kings Place yet? London’s newest concert hall opened in 2008 and is rapidly building a reputation as a vibrant cultural centre with a phenomenal acoustic and a friendly smile. If you haven’t been yet, I urge you to select a good programme – this weekend’s Shostakovich cycle with the Brodsky Quartet was ideal – and head to the concert hall at King’s Cross.