Original: As one of the most revered groups during the Communist era, the quartet performed at the funerals of both Joseph Stalin and Sergei Prokofiev, who both died on the same day in 1953.
Simplified: The quartet had to accept the concerts that their government allowed them to do. They played at the funerals of the dictator Stalin and the composer Sergei Prokofiev which were on the same day (both men died on 5 March 1953.