Shostakovich: String Quartets Nos. 2, 7 & 10 Jerusalem Quartet

• Dmitri Shostakovich (1906 - 1975): String Quartet No. 2 in A Major, Op. 68:
• 1 Shostakovich: String Quartet No. 2 in A Major, Op. 68: I. Overture. Moderato con moto 08:37
• 2 Shostakovich: String Quartet No. 2 in A Major, Op. 68: II. Recitative and Romance. Adagio 12:09
• 3 Shostakovich: String Quartet No. 2 in A Major, Op. 68: III. Valse. Allegro 05:34
• 4 Shostakovich: String Quartet No. 2 in A Major, Op. 68: IV. Theme with Variations. Adagio 11:23
• String Quartet No. 7 in F-Sharp Minor, Op. 108:
• 5 Shostakovich: String Quartet No. 7 in F-Sharp Minor, Op. 108: I. Allegretto — 03:36
• 6 Shostakovich: String Quartet No. 7 in F-Sharp Minor, Op. 108: II. Lento — 03:21
• 7 Shostakovich: String Quartet No. 7 in F-Sharp Minor, Op. 108: III. Allegro — Allegretto 06:15
• String Quartet No. 10 in A-Flat Major, Op. 118:
• 8 Shostakovich: String Quartet No. 10 in A-Flat Major, Op. 118: I. Andante 04:24
• 9 Shostakovich: String Quartet No. 10 in A-Flat Major, Op. 118: II. Allegretto furioso 04:10
• 10 Shostakovich: String Quartet No. 10 in A-Flat Major, Op. 118: III. Adagio — 06:09
• 11 Shostakovich: String Quartet No. 10 in A-Flat Major, Op. 118: IV. Allegretto — Andante 09:25
• Total Runtime 01:15:03

Info for Shostakovich: String Quartets Nos. 2, 7 & 10

The fifteen string quartets composed by Shostakovich established him as one of the masters of this genre. These works show him at his most concentrated & most intimate. Although each is quite different in form and structure, every bar of them reveals some aspect of the composer’s character, from wild humour to black despair, with an all-pervasive nervous tension. Without texts, descriptive titles or any overt public agenda, they can be heard as revelations of the composer’s musicianship in its most essential form. For its first release on BIS Records, the Jerusalem Quartet presents three of Shostakovich’s quartets. Although the Second String Quartet was composed in 1944, its character is elusive and it makes no direct reference to the war. Yet this is a substantive work, dark, powerful and at times dissonant. The Seventh Quartet, consisting of three short mvts played without interruption, is an enigmatic and deeply personal work dedicated to the memory of the composer’s wife. For all its questioning and complex inner references, the Tenth Quartet is among the most immediately appealing of his later works. By this stage in his life, Shostakovich’s music tended to speak in a quieter voice and to a more intimate audience.

Jerusalem Quartet

The Jerusalem Quartet
was founded in 1993, and began its training in Jerusalem, under the direction of the violinist Avi Abramovitch. From 1999 to 2001 the quartet received support from the BBC (as BBC New Generation Artists), then in 2003 it was the recipient of the first Borletti-Buitoni Trust Award.

The Jerusalem Quartet is now a regular guest in the world’s leading concert halls, notably in the United States where it is increasingly present. It performs with such artists as Alexander Melnikov, Lawrence Power, and Sharon Kam.

The quartet’s discography on harmonia mundi has won many international awards. Its interpretation of Schubert’s ‘Death and the Maiden’ Quartet won a Diapason d’Or of the Year in 2008 and an ECHO Klassik award in 2009, while its most recent release, Schumann’s Piano Quintet and Quartet, received distinctions from BBC Music Magazine, Scherzo, and Télérama.

Booklet for Shostakovich: String Quartets Nos. 2, 7 & 10