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Chamber Music

Thanks to his day-job as a research chemist (among other commitments), Alexander Borodin wasn't the most prolific of composers, and this 3CD set suffices to include all of his chamber works. It's a 2009 issue on the budget Brilliant Classics label of recordings made in the mid-'90s. The performers are The Moscow Trio and The Moscow String Quartet, with a further four musicians helping out here & there. None of the players are famous enough that I recognise their names, but all are highly accomplished. The recordings themselves are excellent too.

The majority of the works are early ones, written when Borodin was in his twenties. According to Malcolm MacDonald's booklet notes, the String Quintet in F minor on disc 2 is among his first serious compositions. It, like a few of the other pieces, was never fully finished. There are only two movements of a String Sextet in D minor, and the Piano Trio in D has three movements, but, seems to be lacking a fourth to serve as a satisfying finalé.

The Piano Trio is nevertheless richly tuneful and highly enjoyable, as is the Piano Quintet in C minor, which does appear to be a complete work. Compared with his better-known String Quartets, however, these are all relatively obscure and seldom-performed pieces. The second Quartet in particular has wide renown, principally for its beautiful 'Nocturne' third movement: I have another two recordings of it on vinyl. The third movment of the first quartet is also very striking, with muted sections utilising high harmonics lending it an otherwordly shimmer.


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