Alexander Borodin was one of those remarkable people who can pursue several equally successful careers. He studied various instruments as a boy, began to compose in his teens, and became famous in music, chemistry, and medicine. His two quartets are thoroughly romantic. The first, heard less frequently, is never less than pleasant and often felicitous, with many lovely melodies; a mournful, very Russian slow movement; and a scintillating, feathery Scherzo, whose Trio, primarily in harmonics, has a celestial sound.

The second quartet is greatly superior and more concise, the thematic material more inspired and better developed. It is famous for its slow movement, "Notturno," a tender, rapturous dialogue between cello and first violin, which has been described as a love scene between Borodin and his wife of 20 years, to whom the work is dedicated. Toward the end, however, it suddenly becomes melancholy, as if in foreboding: Borodin died six years later, only 55 years old.

The playing here is breathtakingly beautiful. The date of the original recording is not mentioned, though on the picture the players look very young. The Quartet was formed by its leader, Rostislav Dubinsky, and cellist Valentin Berlinsky in 1945; the other two members joined in the early '50s. These are the musicians heard on this disc; they played together until 1975, when Dubinsky emigrated to America. The four players are absolutely equal. Their technical command is complete, their ensemble seamlessly integrated, their tone flawlessly pure, smooth as silk, and warm as velvet; the first violin soars radiantly. They bring out every mood and nuance with deep, inward expressiveness, but with a noble restraint that precludes sentimentality; they hardly slide and never exaggerate. The Quartet still exists, but Berlinsky is the only original member left. --Edith Eisler