This album was recorded by SWR from May 17 to 20, 2021, at Studio Kaiserslautern, Germany, and was recorded in 24 bits/96kHz.
Composition History
The String Quartet No. 8 was composed in 1960 after Shostakovich was deeply affected by the ruins of Dresden, Germany, which had been razed by Allied bombing in 1945.
Composer Biography
Dmitri Shostakovich, a Russian composer, waited until he was thirty to begin writing string quartets, a genre he would later contribute to significantly.
Composition History
Shostakovich's String Quartet No. 3 was triumphantly received by the public and critics at its premiere in Moscow in December 1946, after the 'Great Patriotic War'.
Compositional Technique
Shostakovich's String Quartet No. 8 is almost entirely based on a four-note motif (D, E-flat, C, B) derived from the German transliteration of his name, 'DSCH'.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Shostakovich used chamber music, specifically his string quartets, as a form of passive resistance against Soviet authorities who condemned his larger symphonic works.
Cultural Impact
Shostakovich's String Quartet No. 8 was arranged for string orchestra by violist and conductor Rudolf Barshai, giving it a 'double life' as the Chamber Symphony, Op. 110a.
