In his three other arrangements of Shostakovich's string quartets for expanded ensembles, Rudolf Barshai twice restricted himself to string orchestras (Chamber Symphony, Op. 110a [String Quartet No. 8], and Symphony for Strings, Op. 118bis [String Quartet No. 10]) and twice enlarged the ensemble beyond strings (Chamber Symphony, Op. 73a, for strings and woodwinds [String Quartet No. 3] and Chamber Symphony, Op. 83a, for strings, woodwinds, horns, trumpet, and percussion [String Quartet No. 4]).

In the Chamber Symphony, Op. 83a, Barshai restricts his score to strings and winds in the first two movements, adds the brass and tympani in the third movement, and the larger percussion section including snare drum, xylophone, and gong(!) in the fourth and final movement. While Barshai had used woodwinds of Op. 73a to enhance the colors and to underline the counterpoint of that work, he vastly enlarges the role of the additional instruments in Op. 83a. Frequently, the strings are silent and the winds or brass take over the exposition of the music. Although some critics have questioned the value of Barshai's arrangement of Op. 83a, he has here created a work of considerably larger dimensions than a chamber symphony.

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