Musicologist Kai Christensen describes Dmitri Shostakovich’s fifteen string quartets as “a personal diary of poignant reactions, reflection, and dark visions.”
Nowhere is this more apparent than in the middle quartets. Shostakovich dedicated his Seventh Quartet to the memory of his first wife, Nina, who died in December of 1954 at the age of 46. Outwardly, the iconic and emotionally raw Eighth String Quartet was “dedicated to victims of war and fascism.” Privately, Shostakovich described it as a personal eulogy. Some who were close to the composer went so far as to call it a suicide note.
The quartet which followed, which was purportedly based on “themes from childhood,” amounted to a false start. Similarly to the way a ceramic artist destroys a flawed pot, Shostakovich claimed “in an attack of healthy self-criticism, I burnt it in the stove.” Following a short-lived second marriage, Shostakovich dedicated the String Quartet No. 9 in E-flat Major, Op. 117, to his third wife, Irina. Completed in May of 1964, it was “completely different” from the discarded work of three years earlier.
The Ninth String Quartet is set in five movements which unfold without pause. The first movement (Moderato con moto) begins with a sense of hushed apprehension. Pale with terror, the first violin’s solo emerges over an octave drone, played by the cello and viola. An undulating line in the second violin snakes forward. Russian audiences would have recognized it as a reference to a similar undulating line from the aria, Yet one last tale from the opening of the first act of Mussorgsky’s Boris Godunov. In the opera, it is the music of Pimen, the venerable monk who writes a chronicle of Russian history. The wandering line, which is picked up by the other voices, documents the steady passage of time. With it, Shostakovich pulls us into this new musical story. As the movement continues, we hear strains of a half cheerful, half sardonic klezmer fiddle tune.
The second movement (Adagio) is a solemn and mournful modal chorale. It trails off with a descending motif, played by the first violin, which transforms into a wild dance in the third movement (Allegretto). The music is both humorous and menacing. Suddenly, the galloping rhythm of Rossini’s William Tell Overture emerges. Shostakovich went on to quote this playful Rossini fragment again in his final symphony (No. 15). The fourth movement (Adagio) takes the form of a wrenching recitative. Its haunting moments of silence are punctuated by harsh, twanging pizzicato chords. The undulating “Pimen” motif returns in the first violin, accompanied by solemn chords in parallel motion in the other instruments. There are echoes of Ophelia’s Insanity from Shostakovich’s 1964 Hamlet film score.
More than twice the length of any of the previous movements, the finale (Allegro) forms the Quartet’s climax. In the Ninth Quartet, individual voices take centerstage. Now, “characters” and motifs from the earlier movements return, and join together in a wild, boisterous party, which includes a central fugue. The cello breaks into another dramatic recitative, accompanied by tremolo. The galloping music comes even closer to quoting Rossini’s William Tell. With searing, ever-intensifying energy, the coda sweeps us towards the final cadence with the terrifying exuberance of an unruly folk dance.
This concert performance features the Jerusalem Quartet at Lincoln Center in 2013:
Five Great Recordings
- Shostakovich: String Quartet No. 9 in E-flat Major, Op. 117, Jerusalem Quartet Amazon
- Borodin Quartet (1967-1972)
- Borodin Quartet (2018)
- Pacifica Quartet
- Brodsky Quartet
Featured Image: “View of the Kremlin from Krymsky Bridge in Inclement Weather” (1851), Alexei Savrasov
Transfixed!! Awestruck!! as I listened to/watched these brilliant musicians play this thrilling and astonishing work. Thank you so much for your narrative, which I followed as a guide to each movement (noted with glee The William Tell and the chord pizzicatos!). My musical universe expands with every post! Heartfelt thanks extended to all musicians. You make the world a much much better place! Love the blog.