Shostakovich: Complete String Quartets: MusicNear.com

Music CD 1

String Quartet No. 1 in C major, Op. 49: Moderato - D. Shostakovich
String Quartet No. 1 in C major, Op. 49: Moderato - D. Shostakovich
String Quartet No. 1 in C major, Op. 49: Allegro molto - D. Shostakovich
String Quartet No. 1 in C major, Op. 49: Allegro - D. Shostakovich
String Quartet No. 2 in A major, Op. 68: Overture - D. Shostakovich
String Quartet No. 2 in A major, Op. 68: Recitative and Romance - D. Shostakovich
String Quartet No. 2 in A major, Op. 68: Valse - D. Shostakovich
String Quartet No. 2 in A major, Op. 68: Theme with Variations - D. Shostakovich
String Quartet No. 3 in F major, Op. 73: Allegretto - D. Shostakovich
String Quartet No. 3 in F major, Op. 73: Moderato con moto - D. Shostakovich
String Quartet No. 3 in F major, Op. 73: Allegro non troppo - D. Shostakovich
String Quartet No. 3 in F major, Op. 73: Adagio - D. Shostakovich
String Quartet No. 3 in F major, Op. 73: Moderato - D. Shostakovich

Music CD 2

String Quartet No. 4 in D major, Op. 83: Allegretto - D. Shostakovich
String Quartet No. 4 in D major, Op. 83: Andantino - D. Shostakovich
String Quartet No. 4 in D major, Op. 83: Allegretto - D. Shostakovich
String Quartet No. 4 in D major, Op. 83: Allegretto - D. Shostakovich
String Quartet No. 5 in B flat major, Op. 92: Allegro non troppo - D. Shostakovich
String Quartet No. 5 in B flat major, Op. 92: Andante - D. Shostakovich
String Quartet No. 5 in B flat major, Op. 92: Moderato - Allegretto - D. Shostakovich
String Quartet No. 6 in G major, Op. 101: Allegretto
String Quartet No. 6 in G major, Op. 101: Moderato con moto
String Quartet No. 6 in G major, Op. 101: Lento
String Quartet No. 6 in G major, Op. 101: Lento - Allegretto

Music CD 3

String Quartet No. 7 in F sharp minor, Op. 108: Allegretto - D. Shostakovich
String Quartet No. 7 in F sharp minor, Op. 108: Lento - D. Shostakovich
String Quartet No. 7 in F sharp minor, Op. 108: Allegro - D. Shostakovich
String Quartet No. 8 in C minor, Op. 110: Largo - D. Shostakovich
String Quartet No. 8 in C minor, Op. 110: Allegro molto - D. Shostakovich
String Quartet No. 8 in C minor, Op. 110: Allegretto - D. Shostakovich
String Quartet No. 8 in C minor, Op. 110: Largo - D. Shostakovich
String Quartet No. 8 in C minor, Op. 110: Largo - D. Shostakovich
String Quartet No. 9 in E flat major, Op. 117: Moderato con moto
String Quartet No. 9 in E flat major, Op. 117: Adagio
String Quartet No. 9 in E flat major, Op. 117: Allegretto
String Quartet No. 9 in E flat major, Op. 117: Adagio
String Quartet No. 9 in E flat major, Op. 117: Allegro
String Quartet No. 10 in A flat, Op. 118: Andante
String Quartet No. 10 in A flat, Op. 118: Allegretto furioso
String Quartet No. 10 in A flat, Op. 118: Adagio
String Quartet No. 10 in A flat, Op. 118: Allegretto

Music CD 4

Movements (2) for string quartet: Elegy. Adagio
Movements (2) for string quartet: Polka. Allegretto
String Quartet No. 11 in F minor, Op. 122: Introduction - Andantino
String Quartet No. 11 in F minor, Op. 122: Scherzo - Allegretto
String Quartet No. 11 in F minor, Op. 122: Recitative - Adagio
String Quartet No. 11 in F minor, Op. 122: Etude - Allegro
String Quartet No. 11 in F minor, Op. 122: Humoresque - Allegro
String Quartet No. 11 in F minor, Op. 122: Elegy - Adagio
String Quartet No. 11 in F minor, Op. 122: Finale - Moderato
String Quartet No. 12 in D flat major, Op. 133: Moderato
String Quartet No. 12 in D flat major, Op. 133: Allegretto
String Quartet No. 13 in B flat minor, Op. 138

Music CD 5

String Quartet No. 14 in F sharp major, Op. 142: Allegretto
String Quartet No. 14 in F sharp major, Op. 142: Adagio
String Quartet No. 14 in F sharp major, Op. 142: Allegretto
String Quartet No. 15 in E flat minor, Op. 144: No. 1, Elegy
String Quartet No. 15 in E flat minor, Op. 144: No. 2, Serenade
String Quartet No. 15 in E flat minor, Op. 144: No. 3, Intermezzo
String Quartet No. 15 in E flat minor, Op. 144: No. 4, Nocturne
String Quartet No. 15 in E flat minor, Op. 144: No. 5, Funeral March
String Quartet No. 15 in E flat minor, Op. 144: No. 6, Epilogue

The Emerson Quartet, committed champion of contemporary music, has just released the Shostakovich quartets on a five-disc set; chronologically arranged, they reflect his growing personal and political travail. The comparative serenity of the early quartets, indicating how he might have composed free of external pressure, soon gives way to increasingly bleak despair, culminating in the shattering, devastating final ones. The players seem to have a special affinity for these works and fully communicate their overwhelming emotional impact without becoming excessive or sentimental. They give each quartet its own distinct character and bring out the set's wildly changing moods, from sardonic, often grotesque irony bordering on desperation to profound sorrow and mournful lamentation. Recorded live at the Aspen Music Festival, the playing is superb, combining the excitement and spontaneity of a performance with utmost control and perfection; the ensemble is seamless, the sound beautiful, but not lush, varied and expressive. --Edith Eisler

Shostakovich: Complete String Quartets

Shostakovich: Complete String Quartets

Music CD Cover

Shostakovich: Complete String Quartets Poster

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