This recording by the Jerusalem Quartet is absolutely compelling from the outset, with Shostakovich’s Second Quartet – a much weightier piece than you might suppose from the early number. The bright and healthy sound at the opening becomes more intense and turns sinister. The second movement, the Recitative and Waltz, is drawn out to a full 12 minutes, but Alexander Pavlovsky wrings the meaning out of every note in his solo violin lines, boldly applying vibrato, bent notes and long pauses. I am thrilled that the notes Shostakovich put on paper 80 years ago could still come alive with such power. The Scherzo is deftly characterised, with a wide range of colours applied to each passage in turn, always chosen with precision. The finale’s variations switch character with great agility and build up to the powerful final statement. I always considered this a fine quartet, but in the hands of the Jerusalem Quartet it sounds like a true masterwork.

No 7 is short and quite enigmatic. In the uncanny repeated notes at the beginning, the musicians here follow the lead given by the Borodin Quartet, with taut rhythms and plenty of suspense. Later, they make the opening of the finale positively hair-raising. With all the expressionist drama of this piece, we can see why Shostakovich’s lesser colleagues often seemed jealous: how was he allowed to get away with so much, while they had to exercise restraint?

No 10 opens with a sonorous lyricism but keeps shocks in reserve for the Scherzo. Hitchcock could have put to good use the slashing steely timbres here, but even in the midst of this carnage the Jerusalem Quartet humanise the drama, creating a sense of profound despair, which then plays itself out in the subsequent passacaglia. The performers never take the finale’s apparent naivety at face value but remain sombre and stoic throughout.

Shostakovich can, of course, be played differently: with sterner reserve or with lighter shades of humour. But when we hear the Jerusalem Quartet playing these pieces, we are fully convinced by their account. This music clearly speaks to them, and they, in turn, become some of its most persuasive advocates.