It was 1972 in Middlesbrough in the north of England when four schoolkids aged between 10 and 12 decided they wanted to form a string quartet. Within two years they were winning national competitions, performing Dmitri Shostakovich’s music to a packed out Royal Albert Hall in London. They had been so keen to play this, the then relatively obscure Russian composer’s quartets, that they wrote out the parts themselves from radio broadcasts.

More than 40 years on and with two original members remaining – second violin Ian Belton and cellist Jacqueline Thomas – the Brodsky Quartet has been touring the world, performing in more intimate spaces and returning to their first love: the 15 quartets which make up this extraordinarily diverse cycle.

Critics may have been divided about their 1989 Teldec set, detractors considering them “slick” and “cool”. But there should be no such worries with this stunning set taken from live performances at Amsterdam’s Muziekgebouw. With more than 60 groundbreaking recordings under their belt – and with their characteristic full-blooded sound – the Brodskys bring wisdom, searing intensity and undimmed passion to these works, described...