Shostakovich: Piano Quintet & String Quartet No. 2

Featuring

Edward Dusinberre
Károly Schranz
Geraldine Walther
András Fejér
Marc-André Hamelin
Takács Quartet

Dmitri Shostakovich

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Critical Reception

Shostakovich's Piano Quintet in G minor, Op. 57, was awarded a Stalin prize, first class, and is now considered core repertoire alongside works by Schumann, Brahms, and Dvořák.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Shostakovich frequently turned to Bachian counterpoint for compositional renewal, a practice that carried extra significance given the pressures he faced in the Soviet Union.

Performer Biography

The Takács Quartet, formed in 1975 at the Franz Liszt Academy in Budapest, was inducted into Gramophone magazine's Hall of Fame in 2012, alongside legendary artists like Jascha Heifetz and Leonard Bernstein.

Historical Context

Between the ages of ten and thirty, Shostakovich experienced the overthrow of the Tsarist autocracy, the Bolshevik coup, and the rise of Joseph Stalin, among other tumultuous events.

Composition History

Shostakovich composed his String Quartet No. 2 in A major, Op. 68, in 1944, with the Beethoven Quartet, a pre-eminent Russian chamber ensemble, in mind.

Compositional Technique

The second movement of Shostakovich's String Quartet No. 2, "Recitative and Romance," was composed in a single day, while the first movement took four days to write.

Composer Biography

Early in 1936, Shostakovich's career was threatened by two vicious, anonymous articles in Pravda, the official organ of the Communist Party, which castigated his music.