The Pacifica Quartet continue their survey of the complete quartets of Dmitri Shostakovich, this time going back to the first four, dating from 1938 to 1949. As with last year's Volume 1 (Quartets 5-8 plus one by Nikolai Miaskovsky), Cedille offers us two CDs for the price of one, with a bonus quartet by another important Soviet composer, in this case Sergei Prokofiev's Second. And as before, the power and richness of the Pacifica's performance, combined with the excellence of Cedille's sound and the bonuses of detailed program notes and striking cover art, make this set a must-have, even for those who already have a complete set of the quartets.
