After a pause of eight years, Shostakovich returns to the symphonic form and produces his 10th Symphony. It is recognised as a masterpiece both here and abroad. String Quartets no. 7 & 8 are composed.

Why is Vaughan Williams’s Second Quartet not part of the international chamber repertory? Played as eloquently as this it seems unarguably a masterpiece, and a masterpiece specifically of its time: ...