They recovered quite spectacularly, however, in the subsequent works by Shostakovich and Beethoven. The group lacks the casualness of say, the Takacs Quartet - this comes off as appropriate in the quartets of Shostakovich. The Shostakovich String Quartet no. 4’s starkness exposed the group’s exceptional communication skills.

They seemed instinctively attuned to the mechanics of the compositions - they cued each other with well-behaved glances rather than with the disruptive tendency of some quartets to motion one’s entire body and instrument in the general direction of another performer.