String Quartet No. 15 (Shostakovich)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The String Quartet No. 15 in
E-flat minor E-flat minor is a minor scale based on E, consisting of the pitches E, F, G, A, B, C, and D. Its key signature consists of six flats. Its relative key is G-flat major (or enharmonically F-sharp major) and its parallel key is E-flat major. ...
, Op. 144 by
Dmitri Shostakovich Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich, group=n (9 August 1975) was a Soviet-era Russian composer and pianist who became internationally known after the premiere of his First Symphony in 1926 and thereafter was regarded as a major composer. Shostak ...
is the composer's last. It was his first quartet since the Sixth (and only one of three) which did not bear a dedication.


History

According to Sofia Khentova, the Fifteenth Quartet was intended as a "milestone" heralding the next nine string quartets that Shostakovich intended to compose for the
Beethoven Quartet The Beethoven Quartet (, ''Strunnyĭ kvartet imeni Betkhovena'') was a string quartet founded between 1922 and 1923 by graduates of the Moscow Conservatory: violinists Dmitri Tsyganov and Vasily Shirinsky, violist Vadim Borisovsky and cellist S ...
. He had previously promised them a cycle of 24 quartets in all major and minor keys. Shostakovich told the quartet's leader, , that the next quartet would be dedicated to the Beethoven Quartet as a testament to his loyalty to the ensemble. Shostakovich's Fifteenth Quartet was modeled on the Third Quartet by his former pupil,
Boris Tchaikovsky Boris Alexandrovich Tchaikovsky (; 10 September 1925 – 7 February 1996), PAU, was a Soviet and Russian composer, born in Moscow, whose oeuvre includes orchestral works, chamber music and film music. He is considered as part of the second generat ...
, which is composed entirely of slow movements. On May 2, 1974, Shostakovich telephoned
Isaak Glikman Isaac Davydovich Glikman (1911–2003) was a Soviet literary critic, theater critic, librettist, screenwriter, and teacher at the St. Petersburg Conservatory. He was a close friend of the composer Dmitri Shostakovich. Biography Glikman was born ...
and told him he had begun work on a new string quartet. Despite difficulties with his right hand, he continued to compose while convalescing in a Moscow hospital. After being discharged, he and his wife traveled to their
dacha A dacha (Belarusian, Ukrainian language, Ukrainian and rus, дача, p=ˈdatɕə, a=ru-dacha.ogg) is a seasonal or year-round second home, often located in the exurbs of former Soviet Union, post-Soviet countries, including Russia. A cottage (, ...
in
Repino Repino () is the name of several inhabited localities in Russia. Modern localities ;Urban localities *Repino, Saint Petersburg, a municipal settlement in Kurortny District of the federal city of St. Petersburg ;Rural localities * Repino, Ch ...
for the summer. He completed the quartet on May 17, 1974. On June 3, Glikman visited Shostakovich, who told him he had completed the quartet: "I don't know how good it is, but I had some joy in writing it." The Fifteenth was his first quartet since the Sixth and one of only three that did not bear a dedication. It was also only one of two that were not premiered by the Beethoven Quartet. In September, Shostakovich returned to
Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...
and presented his new quartet to the members of the Beethoven Quartet. By that time his poor health had left Shostakovich unable to give a preliminary performance on the piano, as had been his practice with his previous quartets. He handed the score to Tsyganov and told him, "I cannot play it. Just see it for yourself." The quartet's cellist, , one of the group's two remaining founding members, had suffered a
heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...
earlier that year and was also having health problems at the time. As a result, the Beethoven Quartet delayed rehearsals for the Fifteenth's premiere, which worried Shostakovich. During the rehearsals, he asked the members to play the opening movement "so that flies drop dead in mid-air and the audience start leaving the hall from sheer boredom." After rehearsals on the morning of October 18, Shirinsky died. Shostakovich asked the Taneyev Quartet, whom he had already familiarized with the score, to take over the responsibility of the world premiere, an offer which they accepted. Prior to the Moscow premiere, Dmitri Tsyganov, the Beethoven Quartet's last surviving founding member, visited Shostakovich in the hospital for interpretive advice. The composer said to him that he had begun to think over his next quartet, then added: "You know, Mitya, I will not be able to finish the cycle of 24 quartets I had promised you."


Music

The String Quartet No. 15 consists of six
movements Movement may refer to: Generic uses * Movement (clockwork), the internal mechanism of a timepiece * Movement (sign language), a hand movement when signing * Motion, commonly referred to as movement * Movement (music), a division of a larger c ...
played without pause. All but one of its movements are marked "
Adagio Adagio (Italian for 'slowly', ) may refer to: Music * Adagio, a tempo marking, indicating that music is to be played slowly, or a composition intended to be played in this manner * Adagio (band), a French progressive metal band Albums * ''Adag ...
", with the outlier being the "Funeral March" marked "Adagio molto": A fugue based on a folk-like theme makes up the opening "Elegy," the longest of the six movements. It is followed by a "Serenade" in which a series of '' sforzandi'' frame a fragmented waltz melody, both of which are constructed from a twelve-note series. This gives way to the "Intermezzo," which conceals a self-quotation from '' The Nose'', a score which had been revived in the Soviet Union for the first time in 45 years while the quartet's premiere was being prepared. A lyrical "Nocturne" follows, after which a characteristic dotted-motif played unison announces the "Funeral March." The quartet closes with an "Epilogue" which briefly recalls the preceding movements, before fading away
diminuendo In music, the dynamics of a piece are the variation in loudness between notes or phrases. Dynamics are indicated by specific musical notation, often in some detail. However, dynamics markings require interpretation by the performer depending on ...
. In an article published by the ''Information Bulletin of the Copyright Agency of the Soviet Union'', Shostakovich wrote, "I tried to make he Fifteenth Quarteta dramatic work; it is hard to say whether I succeeded." A typical performance lasts approximately 37 minutes. It is the longest of Shostakovich's quartets.


Premieres

The world premiere took place in
Leningrad Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...
on November 15, 1974, at the Glinka Maly Theatre with the composer in attendance. On January 11, 1975, the Beethoven Quartet premiered the work in Moscow, with cellist Yevgeny Altman replacing Shirinsky. The first performance outside the
Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
took place in
Coventry Coventry ( or rarely ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands county, in England, on the River Sherbourne. Coventry had been a large settlement for centurie ...
, England on March 11, 1975, at the
University of Warwick The University of Warwick ( ; abbreviated as ''Warw.'' in post-nominal letters) is a public research university on the outskirts of Coventry between the West Midlands and Warwickshire, England. The university was founded in 1965 as part of ...
's
Arts Centre An art centre or arts center is distinct from an art gallery or art museum. An arts centre is a functional community centre with a specific remit to encourage arts practice and to provide facilities such as theatre space, gallery space, venues fo ...
; the work was performed by the
Fitzwilliam Quartet The Fitzwilliam Quartet or Fitzwilliam String Quartet (FSQ) is a British string quartet. The group was founded in 1968 by four Cambridge undergraduates. There have been a number of changes in personnel over the years, but Alan George from the or ...
. The American premiere followed on January 23, 1976, at
Diablo Valley College Diablo Valley College (DVC) is a public community college with campuses in Pleasant Hill and San Ramon in Contra Costa County, California. DVC is one of three public community colleges in the Contra Costa Community College District (along with ...
in
Concord, California Concord ( ) is the most populous city in Contra Costa County, California, Contra Costa County, California, United States. According to an estimate completed by the United States Census Bureau, the city had a population of 124,016 in 2024, maki ...
. It was performed by a quartet of local amateur musicians in a program dedicated to Shostakovich's memory; the performers were violinists Charles Strong and Charles Blossom, violist David Green, and cellist Anna Jovanovich. The latter had received a copy of the score from Irina Shostakovich, the composer's widow, during a visit to the Soviet Union.


Reception

After listening to a private performance by the Taneyev Quartet at his apartment, Shostakovich thanked them for "having penetrated so deeply the essence of this philosophical work, which I hold most dear." In an article published in ' on November 15, 1974, Shostakovich called the Taneyev Quartet "first-class musicians who play the ifteenth Quartetsuperbly." Shostakovich invited his colleague
Dmitry Kabalevsky Dmitry Borisovich Kabalevsky ( ; – 14 February 1987) was a Soviet composer, conductor, pianist and pedagogue of Russian gentry descent. He helped set up the Union of Soviet Composers in Moscow and remained one of its leading figures during ...
to the rehearsals for the new quartet's premiere. Kabalevsky was initially moved emotionally by the quartet, but later expressed reservations. His suggestion that each movement should bear a programmatic title borrowed from
Romain Rolland Romain Rolland (; 29 January 1866 – 30 December 1944) was a French dramatist, novelist, essayist, art historian and Mysticism, mystic who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1915 "as a tribute to the lofty idealism of his literary pro ...
was not received positively by Shostakovich. According to
Krzysztof Meyer Krzysztof Meyer (born 11 August 1943) is a Polish composer, pianist, and music scholar, formerly dean of the Department of Music Theory (1972–1975) at the State College of Music (now Academy of Music in Kraków), and president of the Polish C ...
, the Fifteenth Quartet was greeted with a standing ovation at its premiere, which Shostakovich acknowledged with difficulty because of his deteriorating physical abilities. The critical reception following the Fifteenth Quartet's British and American premieres was mostly positive.
Gerald Larner Gerald Larner (9 March 1936 – 18 December 2018) was a British music critic. He began his career writing for ''The Guardian'', joining as assistant music critic in 1962 and as chief Northern music critic (1965–93). He wrote for ''The Times'' f ...
in ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' called it "a beautiful work, a credible and more than worthy companion to the recent symphonies" and that it was "yet another demonstration how fruitful, in creative terms, is Shostakovich's present preoccupation with death." In a review for the ''
Birmingham Post The ''Birmingham Post'' is a weekly printed newspaper based in Birmingham, England, with distribution throughout the West Midlands. First published under the name the ''Birmingham Daily Post'' in 1857, it has had a succession of distinguished ...
'', John Falding wrote that Shostakovich's ability to sustain the quartet's "haunting sadness and tsatmosphere of total desolation" was a "mark of isbrilliance". Charles Shere in the ''
Oakland Tribune The ''Oakland Tribune'' was a daily newspaper published in Oakland, California, and a predecessor of the '' East Bay Times''. It was published by the Bay Area News Group (BANG), a subsidiary of MediaNews Group. Founded in 1874, the ''Tribune'' ...
'' felt the music was an homage to
Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...
's late music, while a review in ''
The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...
'' called the quartet "a daring and often touching conception, even if its feelings and mannerisms have already appeared often in Shostakovich's work." Stephen Walsh in ''
The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper. In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...
'' appraised the work negatively and compared it unfavorably to the Eighth Quartet. He also described the composer's late style as having "more than a trace of surrender" and prone to repeating itself:
But whereas in the ighth Quartetthis style was still new and obviously expressed something deeply personal for the composer, in the ifteenthit takes on an altogether more negative aspect—becomes, in fact, the mere absence of resource. It's as if the composer established long ago what his elegiac style ought to be, and was now simply using it again, but without the feeling of newness.
Kurt Sanderling Kurt Sanderling, CBE (; 19 September 1912 – 18 September 2011) was a German conductor. Early life and career Sanderling was born in Arys, Kingdom of Prussia, German Empire (now Orzysz, Poland) to Jewish parents. His early work at the Deuts ...
, a friend of the composer, speculated that he meant the work as an epitaph for himself: "Perhaps because it was so unfathomably terrifying that he could not dedicate it to anyone." In her overview of Shostakovich's quartets, Wendy Lesser wrote that what the composer "feelingly realizes in this quartet is that there can be no settling into comfortable resignation, no weak or even fearless embrace of death, because something in us always wants to live."


Notes


References


Sources

* * * * * *


Further reading

* * * , Michael Parloff. * {{Authority control #15 1974 compositions Compositions in E-flat minor