From the optimistic neoclassical First Quartet (1938), to the breathtaking Eighth (1960)—dedicated “to the victims of fascism and war”—and finally to the dark, elegiac Fifteenth (1974), the Borodin Quartet showcases the full spectrum of Shostakovich’s evolution. The renowned quartet, founded in 1945 in Moscow, is the only ensemble worldwide to have completed three full recording cycles of all 15 quartets, the first time in close collaboration with the composer himself. This profound interpretive tradition is kept alive from generation to generation by the current members of the ensemble, presenting on a 2025 world tour (marking 50 years since the death of the Soviet composer) one of the most emblematic cycles of 20th-century string chamber music.