The First is very classical, short…and contained a beauty of concentrated expression in a very concise model. No. 2 is much more expansive…This is a symphonic-like work in the form of a suite.

The Third Quartet is easily the greatest here and one of the most famous…one of the glories of the entire string quartet catalog.

The Fourth Quartet is in a much lighter mood…and it is a work that reflects a great deal of courage and artistic integrity.

The Pacifica Quartet is a marvel in this music, recorded with lots of atmosphere at the University of Illinois. © 2012 Audiophile Audition Read complete review

Dmitri Shostakovichs Streichquartette erfreuen sich in den letzten Jahren einer immer größer werdenden Beliebtheit. Die beiden vorliegenden Neuerscheinungen, die jeweils verschiedene Shostakovich -Quartette mit denen anderer Komponisten kombinieren, lassen interpretatorisch keine Wünsche offen und fügen sich somit in die lange Reihe hervorragender Einspielungen ein. Ich persönlich ziehe die Einspielung der Quartette 1-4 durch das ‘Pacifica Quartet’ vor, weil diese Musiker Interpretationen bieten, die die Musik bis in die Extreme ausloten. Hier ergänzen sich musikalischer Charme und tiefste Empfindungen, melodische Intimität und akzentreiche Wendungen, elegische Momente und virtuoser Spieldrang. Dies alles bindet das ‘Pacifica Quartet’ zu in allen Hinsichten faszinierenden Interpretationen. Atemberaubend und sehr modern auch das 2. Streichquartett von Serge Prokofiev, das ein willkommener Füller ist und in dieser Interpretation zu den besten gezählt werden muss.

Technisch brillant ist auch die Aufnahme der Shostakovich-Quartette Nr. 7 und 8 durch das Valentin Berlinsky Quartet. Hier vermisst man allerdings in den langsamen Sätzen das Zwiespältige, das Aufbegehrende, was der Musik leider etwas an Intensität nimmt. Trotzdem gelingen dem Berlinsky Quartet einige wundervolle Momente und vielleicht gerade dadurch, dass dieser Shostakovich nicht so fatalistisch erscheint, bietet er dem Hörer eine andere, aber sehr interessante interessante Perspektive als das extreme Spiel des ‘Pacifica Quartet’, das eindeutig Position bezieht. Bei den Berlinskys gefällt Beethovens Streichquartett op. 59/1 wegen seiner dynamischen Interpretation und seinem vielschichtigen Konzept. Klanglich sind beide Aufnahmen exzellent, wobei das ‘Pacifica Quartet’ voller, direkter und somit aggressiver, das Berlinsky Quartet dagegen feiner und wärmer klingt. © 2012 Pizzicato

The players start the First Quartet at quite a brisk pace, considerably faster than either the Shostakovich Quartet or the Brodsky Quartet in their complete cycles. This is a more light-hearted reading, reflecting the innocence of the young composer’s first essay in the medium. It is a valid and well-considered approach…

I wondered if the fact that I enjoyed the Prokofiev and Shostakovich’s Third Quartet more than I did the others was down to my finally having tuned in to the Pacifica Quartet’s style. Their playing is always clean and well focused—tonally, technically and interpretatively.

…if you are looking for excellent modern recording and clean playing, plus the bonus of relevant extra repertoire, or if you are allergic to overstatement in Shostakovich, then there is certainly much to enjoy and admire with the Pacificas. © 2012 Gramophone Read complete review on Gramophone

…Cedille offers us two CDs for the price of one, with a bonus quartet by another important Soviet composer, in this case Sergei Prokofiev’s Second…the power and richness of the Pacifica’s performance, combined with the excellence of Cedille’s sound and the bonuses of detailed program notes and striking cover art, make this set a must-have, even for those who already have a complete set of the quartets.

The Second Quartet…is a magnificent work on a grand scale…Both the opening “Overture”…and the final “Theme with Variations” are complex, powerful, moving.

Shostakovich’s quartets span a period of 36 years; the first was written in 1938, the last in 1974. The four quartets heard here are the composer’s earliest, though in the overall chronology of his works, you could say that he got a relatively late start in the quartet-writing business. He’d already written his first five symphonies by 1937, before his first quartet was even a twinkle in his ear.

The First Quartet, for the most part, is a bouncy, one might almost say joyful, thing.

2 has some really excellent moments; the melodies in I are exquisitely presented…IV finally has the tonal and dynamic variety we have looked for; the playing is very affecting. 4:II shows the Pacifica players at their most thoughtful, and IV has more detail in the articulation and phrasing…this is a decent set at a reasonable price…The Soviet propaganda posters on the cover are a terrific touch. Easy-to-read notes in English. © 2012 American Record Guide Read complete review on American Record Guide

Celebrating its 50th season, Chicago’s Grant Park Chorus conducted by Christopher Bell, makes it’s a cappella CD debut with an all-American program of eight imaginative, moving, and sometimes whimsical works… © 2012 WFMT (Chicago) Read complete review

While it is argued that Beethoven perfected this musical form, coming hot on his heels is Dmitri Shostakovich, whose 15 string quartets are often regarded as the windows into the composer’s tortured soul.

The power of the music on its own terms is undeniable. The first quartet owes much to Beethoven and shows Shostakovich still discovering the form, eagerly and devotedly.

The brief First Quartet has just the right combination of innocence with hints of something darker just below the surface. The much more substantial Second Quartet, with its dramatic Recitative and Romance second movement that threatens to come unhinged but never quite does, is very powerfully projected, as is the intense Theme and Variations finale. The Fourth Quartet, in its finale, features one of Shostakovich’s first flirtations with Jewish music, and the Pacifica players capture the music’s quasi-tragic mood with unflinching honesty and (as in all these performances) impeccable ensemble, as naturally balanced and engineered as we have any right to hope.