Shostakovich: String Quartet Nos. 5 & 7 & Piano Quintet / Leonskaja, Artemis Quartet

The origins of this album – the Artemis Quartet’s first recordings of Shostakovich – lie in the ensemble’s long-established relationship with the great pianist Elisabeth Leonskaja. For years, the quartet had been wanting to record the Russian composer’s Piano Quintet with her. It is coupled with Quartets No 5 and No 7, multi-faceted works which are expressive of the composer’s private persona.