A period of nearly 30 years separates these two works, yet each of them achieves maximum expression through careful, creative use of minimal musical materials, thus providing musical parables on the hard realities of Soviet Russia in which the works were conceived.

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Not only featuring five players but five movements, the well-received Piano Quintet from 1940 reveals a variety of influences, including Russian folk music and Bach. Evoking a certain baroque grandeur, the Prelude makes its point with spare textures and a haunting use of extreme registers – characteristics that pervade the whole score. Trio Wanderer and friends play with enormous passion and conviction throughout, delighting in the way Shostakovich suddenly spotlights different members of the ensemble. The players bring finely calibrated control to the understated Fugue, jollity to the...