Shostakovich String Quartets

[Pulcinella]

A great day at the Sam Wanamaker Theatre yesterday for the Carducci quartetathon.
A feat for the players and a feast for the audience, most of which stayed for the whole day.
There was a long and very well deserved standing ovation at the end.
Certainly encouraged me to get to know the quartets better: perhaps a winter evening project.
I had stupidly thought that I already 'knew' these quartets, or at least was familiar with them: not at all, except for the most commonly played ones.
Number 9 was the revelation for me: I'd certainly include that in your selection, Beefy!
Let us know which ones you finally choose/chose.

[Beef Oven!]

A great day at the Sam Wanamaker Theatre yesterday for the Carducci quartetathon.
A feat for the players and a feast for the audience, most of which stayed for the whole day.
There was a long and very well deserved standing ovation at the end.
Certainly encouraged me to get to know the quartets better: perhaps a winter evening project.
I had stupidly thought that I already 'knew' these quartets, or at least was familiar with them: not at all, except for the most commonly played ones.
Number 9 was the revelation for me: I'd certainly include that in your selection, Beefy!
Let us know which ones you finally choose/chose.

Glad you had a great time! And what a primer for a winter project of reacquainting with DSCH's string quartets!

[ahinton]

A great day at the Sam Wanamaker Theatre yesterday for the Carducci quartetathon.
A feat for the players and a feast for the audience, most of which stayed for the whole day.
There was a long and very well deserved standing ovation at the end.
Certainly encouraged me to get to know the quartets better: perhaps a winter evening project.
I had stupidly thought that I already 'knew' these quartets, or at least was familiar with them: not at all, except for the most commonly played ones.
Number 9 was the revelation for me: I'd certainly include that in your selection, Beefy!
Let us know which ones you finally choose/chose.

An extraordinary feat of endurance and concentration, without doubt - and on the part of the audience as well as that of the ensemble! Yes, 9 is indeed one of the most important of them but there seems to me to be not one remotely disappointing work in the entire cycle and remarkably little evidence of the composer "repeating" himself from one quartet to another, despite his voice always being so distinctively recognisable. Was this performance given to mark the 40th anniversay of the composer's death? It would have been a rather amazing coincidence if not, methinks...

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

... but there seems to me to be not one remotely disappointing work in the entire cycle and remarkably little evidence of the composer "repeating" himself from one quartet to another, despite his voice always being so distinctively recognisable.

(I'd've added , but I know you don't so indulge. Slainte mhor, therefore!)

[Pulcinella]

An extraordinary feat of endurance and concentration, without doubt - and on the part of the audience as well as that of the ensemble! Yes, 9 is indeed one of the most important of them but there seems to me to be not one remotely disappointing work in the entire cycle and remarkably little evidence of the composer "repeating" himself from one quartet to another, despite his voice always being so distinctively recognisable. Was this performance given to mark the 40th anniversay of the composer's death? It would have been a rather amazing coincidence if not, methinks...

The date was mentioned in advance publicity but not commented on yesterday (and I think I was concentrating all the time!) or mentioned in the programme, as far as I can see. Number 10 was the one that made the least impression on me, but perhaps I was still reeling from number 9!

[teamsaint]

A great day at the Sam Wanamaker Theatre yesterday for the Carducci quartetathon.
A feat for the players and a feast for the audience, most of which stayed for the whole day.
There was a long and very well deserved standing ovation at the end.
Certainly encouraged me to get to know the quartets better: perhaps a winter evening project.
I had stupidly thought that I already 'knew' these quartets, or at least was familiar with them: not at all, except for the most commonly played ones.
Number 9 was the revelation for me: I'd certainly include that in your selection, Beefy!
Let us know which ones you finally choose/chose.

Glad you had such a great time Pulcers. Would have loved to be at this.
Incidentally, the excellent Atrium Quartet also perform a similar marathon from time to time. Hopefully they will bring it back to the UK soon.

[Beef Oven!]

"...........there seems to me to be not one remotely disappointing work in the entire cycle and remarkably little evidence of the composer "repeating" himself from one quartet to another, despite his voice always being so distinctively recognisable.

And maybe you've given the reason why I'm having great difficulty getting my holiday list to just 5!!!

[ahinton]

(I'd've added , but I know you don't so indulge. Slainte mhor, therefore!)

Many thanks indeed (not least for your kind consideration of my horror of beery substances!)...

[ahinton]

And maybe you've given the reason why I'm having great difficulty getting my holiday list to just 5!!!

Indeed - so why bother even to try in the face of so consistent a series of wondrous quartets?! As I might say to my delectable Young compatriot in the utterly unlikely event of being invited to participate as castaway on Desert Island Discs, "if I could take only one Shostakovich quartet, I have no idea ewhich but if I could take only one box of the entire set, give me time and I'll think about it and come up with an answer"...

[Bryn]

Indeed - so why bother even to try in the face of so consistent a series of wondrous quartets?! As I might say to my delectable Young compatriot in the utterly unlikely event of being invited to participate as castaway on Desert Island Discs, "if I could take only one Shostakovich quartet, I have no idea ewhich but if I could take only one box of the entire set, give me time and I'll think about it and come up with an answer"...

There's a fair chance your desert island would be in the Pacific. The Pacifica set is not only very fine indeed, it also includes four other Soviet string quartets.

[ahinton]

There's a fair chance your desert island would be in the Pacific. The Pacifica set is not only very fine indeed, it also includes four other Soviet string quartets.

I know! And what an astonishing ensemble the Pacifica are! The very fact of their having played the Shostakovich and Carter quartets is alone quite an achievement even without considering the other repertoire that they perform!

[jayne lee wilson]

All but one (and that's the one which Barshai arranged and DSCH authorized first: no.8 op.110 ) are honest arrangements for chamber orchestra, not only beefed up strings which -I immediately agree- most of the time are unsatisfying (For me exceptions confirming the rule are e.g. Verklärte Nacht as well as Barber's Adagio).

...don't forget Skalkottas' Ten Sketches...any excuse to mention the Great Greek again...

[EdgeleyRob]

And maybe you've given the reason why I'm having great difficulty getting my holiday list to just 5!!!

Take the lot Beefy,plus the complete Weinberg and Myaskovsky quartets too.
String quartet heaven.
I might just do exactly that when I go on holiday in September

[Bryn]

And don't go without Feldman 1 and 2, either, and the earlier Stuctures and Three Pieces for good measure. Flux Quartet, of course.

[Beef Oven!]

Take the lot Beefy,plus the complete Weinberg and Myaskovsky quartets too.
String quartet heaven.
I might just do exactly that when I go on holiday in September

I may do that! Plus the Bartok and Schoenberg quartets!

Where are you going in September?