Dmitri Shostakovich: String Quartets Nos. 10, 11, 12 & 13

Featuring

Dmitri Tsyganov
Nikolai Zabavnikov
Fyodor Druzhinin
Sergei Shirinsky
Beethoven Quartet
Dmitri Shostakovich

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Composer's Artistic Vision

Shostakovich incorporated elements of twelve-note technique in his Quartet No. 12, stating that a composer can use any technique as they see fit, even if it's in a 'negative manner' relative to strict dodecaphony.

Composition History

Shostakovich's Quartet No. 11 was written in January 1966 and is dedicated to the memory of Vasily Shirinsky, an outstanding musician and member of the Beethoven Quartet.

Performer Biography

The Beethoven Quartet had a close and permanent collaboration with Shostakovich, premiering twelve of his fifteen String Quartets, with the later quartets individually dedicated to the ensemble members.

Performer Biography

The Beethoven Quartet was founded in 1923 by young graduates of the Moscow Conservatory, including Dmitri Tsyganov (first violin), Vasily Shirinsky (second violin), Vadim Borisovsky (viola), and Sergei Shirinsky (cello).

Notable Performances

The Beethoven Quartet was the first performer of all of Shostakovich's chamber works and was instrumental in the history of Soviet chamber music performance.

Compositional Technique

The Quartet No. 13 is in one continuous movement, marked Adagio, but its large central section moves at a faster tempo, and includes instructions for players to strike the belly of their instruments with the bow stick.