The Scherzo 3rd movement of Shostakovich’s G minor Piano Quintet Op. 57, in the new recording from the Takács Quartet and pianist Marc-André Hamelin … and time and again when I was expecting gritty forcefulness, they surprised me with a more silken subtlety of approach, an understated sensitivity that nonetheless peels away the work’s surface and allows you to glimpse its emotional depths. Which isn’t to say that they don’t have power and steeliness on tap—of course they do, and precision a-plenty as well … it’s just that they don’t bludgeon you into submission; shouty Shostakovich it ain’t, and after repeated auditions, it’s all the better for it.