WITH a reputation that precedes them, it was unsurprising the Borodin Quartet filled Sage Gateshead’s Hall Two to its top tier when they dropped in as part of their 70th anniversary world tour.

Formed when four students met to play at the Moscow Conservatory in 1945, the quartet’s successors carry the flame of an unbroken tradition of tonal beauty and penetrating musicianship that held an audience transfixed throughout.

The programme opened on a breezy note with Borodin’s String Quartet No 2. The opening melody flowed gracefully between the players, while the scherzo was played with the lightest of touches. The highlight had to be the Notturno; made popular through the romantic theme, borrowed for the musical Kismet. The eloquent song was delivered with heartfelt conviction by violinist Ruben Aharonian and cellist Vladimir Balshin. Violist Igor Naidin provided a magic touch, when in one passage his bow hovered above the strings barely alighting and sounding for all the world like a bumblebee in flight. The finale was taken to an emphatic climax.

Earlier members of the quartet enjoyed an intimate relationship with Shostakovich, who supervised their study of his quartets. The composer’s spirit radiated from a searing performance of his Eight String Quartet; written “to the memory of victims of fascism and war”.

The opening lament evoked a landscape of utter desolation, while the aggressive second movement had an unremitting drive. Particularly affecting was a serene duet between Aharonian and second violinist Sergei Lomovsky. The quartet ended on a sad note of resignation that drifted into the ether.

An immaculate rendition of Beethoven’s last string quartet, Opus 131, was followed by a encore in the shape of Shostakovich’s Elegy for String Quartetc - a fitting ending to a memorable concert.