Shostakovich: String Quartet No. 7 in F sharp minor, Op. 108

Here’s an entirely new, distinctive performance tradition in Shostakovich’s quartets. The Hagen’s approach is pristine, with a wonderful transparency to the textures and a real bounce to the dance-inspired movements. There’s no lack of emotional depth, but some of the grime of accumulated habits has been cleaned off and the works emerge shining anew. Helen Wallace - BBC Music Magazine

“How wonderful to see Nimbus demonstrating all its strengths in this superb issue… which contains some of the most uninhibited quartet playing I have heard in a long while, on or off record. There have been so many Shostakovich quartet recordings in recent years, but few, if any, have matched this. I have only heard the Prokofiev once in live performance! It would be a real victory for the recording industry if this disc could spawn concert performances of the quartet. The Kopelman Quartet clearly takes the work very seriously…and the recording really comes into its own in the Adagio, where the violin pizzicati are stunningly caught. In the Kopelman Quartet’s hands, this is like hearing the piece with new ears. Surely, this disc will win the piece many friends. A tremendous success. More, please.” Colin Clarke Musicweb International