Shostakovich's First String Quartet: C Major

Author: (Russian) Dmitri Shostakovich
Publisher:
Publication Date: 2003-04-01
Features: Shostakovich, Dmitri (1906–1975) was one of the most outstanding composers of the Soviet Union. Born in St. Petersburg, he studied composition with Steinberg and piano with Nikolaev. At the age of thirteen, he composed the Symphony No. 1, "Scherzo." His symphonies demonstrated remarkable precocious talent, with the first being premiered in Leningrad in 1926. In the following years, his works were either politically themed, such as the Second Symphony dedicated to the October Revolution of 1917 (1927) and the Third Symphony, "May Day" (1930), or satirical, such as the opera "The Nose" (1927–1928) and the ballet "The Golden Age" (1930). His opera "Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk" (also known as "Katerina Ismailova") was criticized by Pravda in 1936 as being filled with "harsh noises," "denying the principles of opera," and being "completely apolitical fiction." The Fourth Symphony was withdrawn from rehearsals (1936), while the Fifth Symphony (1937) was more serious,，，“”，“”。 The Seventh Symphony was composed during the siege of Leningrad in 1941, depicting peace, struggle, and victory. When accepting the renewed criticism from the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in 1948, Shostakovich admitted that his "artistic transformation" was not thorough and promised to align more closely with "folk art." He successfully created several works with international influence, proving himself to be a composer who stood the test of time. He composed a total of fifteen symphonies, among which the Seventh Symphony, the Tenth Symphony (1953), where contemplation, meditation, and passion intertwine, and the Eleventh Symphony (1957), reflecting the tragic 1905 Revolution, are all masterpieces of modern symphonic music. The Thirteenth (a song symphony based on the poems of Evтушенко), the Fourteenth (a symphony inspired by poems about death), and the Fifteenth Symphony reveal a pessimistic tone rarely seen in Soviet music. His string quartets are as numerous as his symphonies and also belong to the category of excellent modern quartet music. Additionally, he composed violin, cello, and piano concertos, a piano quintet, a piano trio, two piano sonatas, and solo piano works (including sets of preludes and fugues). In most of his compositions, he enriched traditional classical forms with new content and vitality.