Russian gems and Beethoven journeys

Every Rimsky-Korsakov opera is accounted for in some form

One of the world’s great string quartets, the Borodin Quartet remained at the forefront of Russian music advocacy since it was formed (under a different() we’re treated to eight discs of recordings from the Berlinsky-Shebalin-Kopelman-Abramenkov years. Tchaikovsky and Shostakovich dominate, including all of the former’s string chamber works, along with complete works by Schnittke, with whom the quartet worked closely. A disc of ‘Russian Miniatures’ is a sweet addition, featuring quartet movments and short items by further Russian masters and recorded to mark the quartet’s 50th anniversary in 1995.