The Borodin Quartet has an entry in the Guinness Book of Records – as the oldest active chamber music ensemble. Of course, its lineup has changed one or two times over the years, but its distinctive sound is cherished. They will be our guests, performing two famous string quartets.

First up is Ludwig van Beethoven’s Quartet Op. 132, which was very progressive for 1825 and praised in the Allgemeine musikalische Zeitung as “grand, splendid, unusual, surprising and original”. This is followed by Dmitri Shostakovich’s last quartet from 1974, with whom “the Borodin” maintained a close exchange in the 1940s and 50s. The ensemble performed many of his 15 string quartets for the first time.