String Quartet No. 3 (Shostakovich)
Encyclopedia
Dmitri Shostakovich's
String Quartet
No. 3 in F major (Op. 73) was composed in 1946 after his Symphony No. 9
was censured by Soviet authorities. It was premiered in Moscow by the Beethoven Quartet
, to whom it is dedicated, in December 1946. The work was furiously denounced due to the horrors the music portrays and because it ends on a very ambiguous, inconclusive, fashion. Some critics went as far as accusing Shostakovich of hiding coded subversive messages against Stalin within it .
:
Playing time is approximately 33 minutes.
For the premiere, most likely so that he would not be accused of "formalism
" or "elitism
," Shostakovich renamed the movements in the manner of a war story :
A chamber symphony arrangement (Op. 73a) was made of this quartet by Rudolph Barshai with Shostakovich's permission . It calls for flute, oboe, English horn, clarinet, bassoon, harp, and strings. It adds winds for tonal color and strength in the style of Shostakovich's symphonies. Some critics argue that it is better than the original composition itself .
The first movement of the quartet, Allegretto, is clearly constructed using sonata allegro form. The first theme appears in the first violin and is often heard interacting with the cello. The second theme is stated in the first violin and then imitated and transformed throughout the other three instruments in the ensemble. The development is rather large and pulls its material mainly from the first theme. Finally the coda arrives with an acceleration and crescendo, borrowing, once again, the main theme as its material.
Dmitri Shostakovich
Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich was a Soviet Russian composer and one of the most celebrated composers of the 20th century....
String Quartet
String quartet
A string quartet is a musical ensemble of four string players – usually two violin players, a violist and a cellist – or a piece written to be performed by such a group...
No. 3 in F major (Op. 73) was composed in 1946 after his Symphony No. 9
Symphony No. 9 (Shostakovich)
Symphony No. 9 in E flat major, Op. 70 was composed by Dmitri Shostakovich in 1945. It was premiered on 3 November 1945 in Leningrad by the Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra under Evgeny Mravinsky.-Composition:...
was censured by Soviet authorities. It was premiered in Moscow by the Beethoven Quartet
Beethoven Quartet
The Beethoven Quartet was founded between 1922 and 1923 by graduates of the Moscow Conservatory: violinists Dmitri Tsyganov and Vasily Shirinsky, violist Vadim Borisovsky and cellist Sergei Shirinsky...
, to whom it is dedicated, in December 1946. The work was furiously denounced due to the horrors the music portrays and because it ends on a very ambiguous, inconclusive, fashion. Some critics went as far as accusing Shostakovich of hiding coded subversive messages against Stalin within it .
Structure
The quartet is composed of 5 movementsMovement (music)
A movement is a self-contained part of a musical composition or musical form. While individual or selected movements from a composition are sometimes performed separately, a performance of the complete work requires all the movements to be performed in succession...
:
- Allegretto
- Moderato con moto
- Allegro non troppo
- Adagio -
- Moderato
Playing time is approximately 33 minutes.
For the premiere, most likely so that he would not be accused of "formalism
Formalism (music)
In music theory and especially in the branch of study called the aesthetics of music, formalism is the concept that a composition's meaning is entirely determined by its form.-Aesthetic theory:Leonard B...
" or "elitism
Elitism
Elitism is the belief or attitude that some individuals, who form an elite — a select group of people with intellect, wealth, specialized training or experience, or other distinctive attributes — are those whose views on a matter are to be taken the most seriously or carry the most...
," Shostakovich renamed the movements in the manner of a war story :
- Blithe ignorance of the future cataclysm
- Rumblings of unrest and anticipation
- Forces of war unleashed
- In memory of the dead
- The eternal question: Why? And for what?
A chamber symphony arrangement (Op. 73a) was made of this quartet by Rudolph Barshai with Shostakovich's permission . It calls for flute, oboe, English horn, clarinet, bassoon, harp, and strings. It adds winds for tonal color and strength in the style of Shostakovich's symphonies. Some critics argue that it is better than the original composition itself .
The first movement of the quartet, Allegretto, is clearly constructed using sonata allegro form. The first theme appears in the first violin and is often heard interacting with the cello. The second theme is stated in the first violin and then imitated and transformed throughout the other three instruments in the ensemble. The development is rather large and pulls its material mainly from the first theme. Finally the coda arrives with an acceleration and crescendo, borrowing, once again, the main theme as its material.