It is hard to envisage a more enticing prospect: Shostakovich’s densely woven String Quartet No 2 and his deceptively backward-looking Piano Quintet, performed by the stellar Takács Quartet and Marc-André Hamelin, generously notated by David Fanning, and lovingly recorded by Hyperion’s Simon Eadon and Andrew Keener team. Seventy minutes of post-Revolutionary Russian ecstasy. BBC Music Magazine June 2015 ***** “a highly engrossing experience...the Takács come to the music from a somewhat different angle to their Soviet and Russian counterparts, emphasising closer connections with Western musical traditions than is usual... Hamelin's supremely intelligent chamber music playing providing an admirable foil to the subtle textures conjured by the string players.” Gramophone Magazine May 2015 “As the work unfolds, you're very aware that the relationship between pianist and string quartet is one of dialogue…it's perhaps in the Intermezzo [of the Piano Quintet] that the new disc scores most highly, exquisitely withdrawn, while in the finale the ambiguity of mood is well captured.” Presto Classical 30th March 2015 “it’s hard to imagine a better performance than those given by the Takács Quartet and Marc-André Hamelin. I find their tutti playing particularly excellent; the big chordal climaxes in both works show off their absolutely peerless ensemble, and the interplay with Hamelin in the Quintet is sensitive and well-judged. These are two works that it’s definitely worth getting to know, and Hamelin and the Takács Quartet are fine ambassadors for them.” Sunday Times 19th April 2015 “The great Soviet composer’s chamber music is new to the discography of the Takacs, arguably the world’s most versatile string quartet. Here they strike up a tingling rapport with one of Hyperion’s “house” pianists: sparks fly between the French-Canadian and the British/Hungarian string players.” The Telegraph 3rd May 2015 **** “The natural sheen of the playing and a true feeling of ensemble are qualities that have long been hallmarks of the Takács’s performances, and here they are combined with a haunting atmosphere...a determined rhythmic impetus and an astuteness in pointing up accents...[Hamelin] launches the first movement [of the Quintet] with a decisive thrust to which the string players respond with marked intensity.”