Shostakovich's String Quartet No. 7 is dedicated to the memory of his first wife, Nina, who died in 1954 and would have turned fifty in 1960.
Compositional Technique
Shostakovich's String Quartet No. 5 is considered by some to be a masterpiece of symphonic integration, anticipating his Symphony No. 10 in thematic unity and use of his monogram DSCH.
Composer Biography
Shostakovich's visit to Leipzig in 1950 for J.S. Bach's 200th death anniversary directly led to his pivotal work, the 24 Preludes and Fugues for piano, Opus 87.
Composition History
The Ninth Quartet is dedicated to Irina Antonovna Shostakovich, the composer's third wife, whom he married in 1962.
Compositional Technique
The String Quartet No. 7 contains the first glissando in any of Shostakovich's string quartets.
Composer Biography
Shostakovich's quartets are grouped into three cycles (1-6, 7-9, and 10-15), with the central three (7, 8, and 9) being particularly 'personal' works.
Composition History
The Zhdanov decree of 1948 publicly criticized Shostakovich and other leading Soviet composers, forcing him to withhold several works until Stalin's death in March 1953.
