The Carducci String Quartet, described by The Strad as presenting 'a masterclass in unanimity of musical purpose', performs over 90 concerts worldwide each year.
Composition History
Shostakovich's Eighth Quartet, composed in East Germany while scoring a film about the bombing of Dresden, was intended as an autobiographical work, a 'quartet dedicated to my memory'.
Composition History
Shostakovich began composing his String Quartet No. 4 in April 1949, after a second official crackdown on his work, and dedicated it to his friend Pyotr Villyams, an artist and theatre designer.
Compositional Technique
In his Fourth Quartet, Shostakovich used a theme of Jewish character in the finale, a controversial choice in Stalinist Russia due to rising anti-Semitism.
Historical Context
Shostakovich's Fifth Symphony, premiered in Leningrad and Moscow, almost certainly saved him from the 'bad end' threatened by the notorious Pravda editorial 'Muddle instead of Music'.
Composition History
Shostakovich turned to the string quartet medium to find a more private and intimate forum for his music after the public success of his Fifth Symphony.
Composer Biography
Dmitri Shostakovich's 15 string quartets are considered a major landmark in modern string quartet repertoire.
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