Some one (we forget who) once wrote that these Quartets are as great as Beethoven's. Yet not quite as much fuss is made about them we see as the fuss made about the man's Symphonies.

Recently we were given a set of recordings and scores of all the Quartets. But we ourselves are allergic to Shostacowitch's music, and have not heard a single one of these fifteen Quartets right through (give us Scryabine or Rachmannineff any day!), so we shall sit back, relax, and read with considerable interest what Members more knowledgeable and appreciative might have to say about them. After a while having learned a little we may even begin to chip in with some scanned extracts.

(...er, perhaps just that we could talk about Shostakovich here and twentieth-century string quartets on another thread... )

Treating Member Grew's Chostakovitch inquiry as genuine until established otherwise, we would recommend the ninth and tenth quartets as the most satisfying of the cycle in 'traditionally symphonic' terms. We ourselves listen most often to those along with the eleventh (a suite-like series of character pieces, some of them scurrying around on the surface, others plunging very deep indeed we find), the thirteenth (a single movement, as black as its nominal key of Bb minor would suggest), the fifteenth (in Eb minor, six movements, all of them marked Adagio, an intriguing correspondence with a certain quartet of Haydn's there of course), and the twelfth (another large-scale work with a half-hour second movement and to our ears the most optimistic of them although it passes through some distinctly grim realms to reach this point, including a rather gruesome passage in which a chord containing all twelve semitones is repeatedly played by a mere three of the instruments, a passage which perhaps we will be forgiven, perhaps not, for finding gut-wrenching in every respect).

We do hope that Member Grew might eventually find something worthy of contemplation in these works which we find like the symphonies to be an uneven series but with some lofty peaks indeed. As with most lofty peaks an excellent guide is indispensable and we do hope the recording which has found its way to him to be of the highest quality. The Borodins or Fitzwilliams perhaps.

Done.
(Apologies to Richard)

The seventh and eighth for me are ruined, at least temporarily, by overexposure.  And I have a similar reaction to yours about the 6th upon hearing the DSCH business in the 8th--a sort of "Look at me!  I'm tortured!" that, while I realize it's my loss, has wound up making it hard for me to take seriously a piece that I once spent a lot of time with.

Cast another vote on my behalf for the last three (although I must also say that some of the early ones--don't remember which offhand, but among the first four I think--struck me as very nice in a quite different way)