Shostakovich String Quartets 1, 2 & 7 by Carducci Quartet

Dmitri Shostakovich

Carducci Quartet

Shostakovich String Quartets 1, 2 & 7

Price: € 19.95
Format: CD
Label: Signum Classics
UPC: 0635212055922
Catnr: SIGCD 559
Release date: 22 March 2019
Buy

1 CD ✓ in stock	€ 19.95	Buy

Label
Signum Classics

UPC
0635212055922

Catalogue number
SIGCD 559

Release date
22 March 2019

Album

Artist(s)

Composer(s)

About the album

This disc contrasts Shostakovich’s first two string quartets with the seventh – composed in memory of his late wife Nina. In composing his quartets prior to No. 7, Shostakovich had scrupulously followed a predetermined sequence of keys: according to this, the work should have been in E flat major.

However Shostakovich, significantly, chose to break this pattern by writing his new quartet in F sharp minor, the key associated with such anguished music as Peter’s remorse in Bach’s St John Passion, and – particularly close to Shostakovich’s heart – Mahler’s unfinished Tenth Symphony.

This CD marks the second release of the Carducci’s Shostakovich 15 project, which includes performances of the complete cycles of the Shostakovich Quartets in cities including Washington DC, London, Oxford, Cardiff, Bogota and concerts throughout the UK to mark the 40th anniversary of the composer’s death.

Dit album contrasteert Sjostakovitsjs eerste twee strijkkwartetten met het zevende – gecomponeerd ter gedachtenis aan zijn overleden echtgenoot Nina. In zijn kwartetten voorafgaand aan nummer 7 had Sjostakovitsj punctueel een vooraf bepaalde reeks van toonsoorten gevolgd: volgens deze reeks zou het werk in Es groot moeten staan.

Sjostakovitsj koos er echter voor om met dit patroon te breken door zijn nieuwe kwartet in fis klein, de toonsoort die geassocieerd wordt met zulke smartelijke muziek als Peters berouw in Bachs Johannespassie en –bijzonder na aan het hart van Sjostakovitsj – Mahlers onvoltooide Tiende Symfonie.

Dit album is de tweede uitgave in het Shostakovich 15 project van het Carducci Quartet, wat uitvoeringen van alle kwartetten van Sjostakovitsj in steden als Washington DC, London, Oxford, Cardiff, Bogota en concerten door het Verenigd Koninkrijk ter gelegenheid van de 40e sterfdag van de componist omvat.

Artist(s)

Carducci Quartet

An internationally renowned Anglo-Irish string quartet founded in 1997 and based in the UK, the versatile and award-winning Carducci String Quartet has performed everything from brand new quartets, classic works by Haydn, complete Shostakovich cycles, and even partnered with folk-rock icon Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull. The quartet has released a bevy of acclaimed recordings on their own label Carducci Classics, as well as Signum Classics. Their recordings of Philip Glass Quartets have had over six million plays on Spotify.
Described by The Strad as presenting “a masterclass in unanimity of musical purpose, in which severity could melt seamlessly into charm, and drama into geniality”, the Carducci Quartet is recognised as one of today’s most successful string quartets. Performing over 90 concerts worldwide each year, the quartet also run an annual festival in Highnam, Gloucester.
Described by The Strad as presenting “a masterclass in unanimity of musical purpose, in which severity could melt seamlessly into charm, and drama into geniality”, the Carducci Quartet is recognised as one of today’s most successful string quartets.

less

Composer(s)

Dmitri Shostakovich

Dmitri Shostakovich was a Russian pianist and composer of the Soviet period. He is regarded as one of the major composers of the 20th century.
Shostakovich achieved fame in the Soviet Union under the patronage of Soviet chief of staff Mikhail Tukhachevsky, but later had a complex and difficult relationship with the government. Nevertheless, he received accolades and state awards and served in the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR (1947–1962) and the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union (from 1962 until his death).
A polystylist, Shostakovich developed a hybrid voice, combining a variety of different musical techniques into his works. His music is characterized by sharp contrasts, elements of the grotesque, and ambivalent tonality; the composer was also heavily influenced by the neo-classical style pioneered by Igor Stravinsky, and (especially in his symphonies) by the late Romanticism associated with Gustav Mahler.
Shostakovich's orchestral works include 15 symphonies and six concerti. His chamber output includes 15 string quartets, a piano quintet, two piano trios, and two pieces for string octet. His solo piano works include two sonatas, an early set of preludes, and a later set of 24 preludes and fugues. Other works include three operas, several song cycles, ballets, and a substantial quantity of film music; especially well known is The Second Waltz, Op. 99, music to the film The First Echelon (1955–1956), as well as the suites of music composed for The Gadfly.

less