Artemis Quartet
Elisabeth Leonskaja (piano)

Shostakovich: String Quartet No. 5 in B flat major, Op. 92
Shostakovich: Piano Quintet in G minor, Op. 57
Shostakovich: String Quartet No. 7 in F sharp minor, Op. 108

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.