String Quartet No. 10 (Shostakovich)
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Dmitri Shostakovich's String Quartet No. 10 in
A-flat major A-flat major is a major scale based on A♭ (musical note), A, with the pitches A, B♭ (musical note), B, C (musical note), C, D♭ (musical note), D, E♭ (musical note), E, F (musical note), F, and G (musical note), G. Its key signature has fou ...
, Op. 118, was composed from 9 to 20 July
1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 – In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patria ...
. It was premiered by 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 ...
in Moscow and is dedicated to composer Mieczysław (Moisei) Weinberg, a close friend of Shostakovich. It has been described as cultivating the uncertain mood of his earlier Stalin-era quartets, as well as foreshadowing the austerity and emotional distance of his later works. The quartet typified the preference for chamber music over large scale works, such as symphonies, that characterised his late period. According to musicologist
Richard Taruskin Richard Filler Taruskin (April 2, 1945 – July 1, 2022) was an American musicologist and music critic who was among the leading and most prominent music historians of his generation. The breadth of his scrutiny into source material as well as ...
, this made him the first Russian composer to devote so much time to the string quartet medium.


Music

The work has four
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 ...
: Playing time is approximately 22 minutes.


I. Andante

The first movement is in
sonata rondo form Sonata rondo form is a musical form often used during the Classical and Romantic music eras. As the name implies, it is a blend of sonata and rondo forms. Structure Sonata and rondo forms Rondo form involves the repeated use of a theme ...
and makes use of soft dynamics. Opening with a four-note motif on solo violin, the movement is largely written in
E minor E minor is a minor scale based on E, consisting of the pitches E, F, G, A, B, C, and D. Its key signature has one sharp, on the F. Its relative major is G major and its parallel major is E major. The E natural minor scale is: Change ...
, a
minor sixth In music theory, a minor sixth is a musical interval encompassing six staff positions (see Interval number for more details), and is one of two commonly occurring sixths (the other one being the major sixth). It is qualified as ''minor'' bec ...
away from the main key of
A-flat major A-flat major is a major scale based on A♭ (musical note), A, with the pitches A, B♭ (musical note), B, C (musical note), C, D♭ (musical note), D, E♭ (musical note), E, F (musical note), F, and G (musical note), G. Its key signature has fou ...
. This E minor/A-flat major dialogue recurs throughout the quartet. Themes in both keys are heard separately, then simultaneously, before being recapitulated in A-flat. It also features
sul ponticello A variety of musical terms is encountered in printed scores, music reviews, and program notes. Most of the terms are Italian, in accordance with the Italian origins of many European musical conventions. Sometimes, the special musical meanings ...
playing, an extended technique involving use of the upper harmonics of the strings, and makes use of an
anapest An anapaest (; also spelled anapæst or anapest, also called antidactylus) is a metrical foot used in formal poetry. In classical quantitative meters it consists of two short syllables followed by a long one; in accentual stress meters it consist ...
rhythm which recurs throughout Shostakovich's oeuvre. The movement contains a derivation of Shostakovich's "musical signature", the
DSCH motif DSCH is a musical motif used by the composer Dmitri Shostakovich to represent himself. It is a musical cryptogram in the manner of the BACH motif, consisting of the notes ''D, E-flat, C, B natural'', or in German musical notation ''D, Es, C, H'' ( ...
, a
cryptogram A cryptogram is a type of puzzle that consists of a short piece of encrypted text. Generally the cipher used to encrypt the text is simple enough that the cryptogram can be solved by hand. Substitution ciphers where each letter is replaced by ...
of the composer's name using the German lettering system for
musical note In music, notes are distinct and isolatable sounds that act as the most basic building blocks for nearly all of music. This musical analysis#Discretization, discretization facilitates performance, comprehension, and musical analysis, analysis. No ...
s. The movement ends ''
morendo 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 ...
'', denoting gradually dying away in volume. A typical performance takes around 5 minutes.


II. Allegretto furioso

The second movement is in E minor and makes extensive use of the
Locrian mode The Locrian mode is the seventh mode of the major scale. It is either a musical mode or simply a diatonic scale. On the piano, it is the scale that starts with B and only uses the white keys from there on up to the next higher B. Its ascending form ...
. The emotional indicator 'furioso' is unique in Shostakovich's string quartets. Its beginning, four
whole tone In Western music theory, a major second (sometimes also called whole tone or a whole step) is a second spanning two semitones (). A second is a musical interval encompassing two adjacent staff positions (see Interval number for more deta ...
steps, references a subject used by Shostakovich in his Fifth Symphony and Eighth String Quartet. A typical performance takes around 5 minutes.


III. Adagio (attacca)

The third movement is written in
A minor A minor is a minor scale based on A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. Its key signature has no flats or sharps. Its relative major is C major and its parallel major is A major. The A natural minor scale is: Changes needed for the melodic ...
, a
semitone A semitone, also called a minor second, half step, or a half tone, is the smallest musical interval commonly used in Western tonal music, and it is considered the most dissonant when sounded harmonically. It is defined as the interval between ...
away from the tonic A-flat major, although it also employs the A-flat major and E minor tonalities which recur throughout the work. It is written in the
passacaglia The passacaglia (; ) is a musical form that originated in early seventeenth-century Spain and is still used today by composers. It is usually of a serious character and is typically based on a bass- ostinato and written in triple metre. Origin Th ...
form, frequently used in Shostakovich's music, and described as an example of the influence of Baroque period composition on his work. The passacaglia theme is developed, played with and without ground bass, and with added bars and beats throughout the movement. It also features a self-quote of the 'hymn motif' of his Fourth Quartet. A typical performance takes around 7 minutes.


IV. Allegretto – Andante

The fourth movement is continuous from the third, played with no pause in between. It is written in A-flat major, the tonic key of the work. It also employs
D minor D minor is a minor scale based on D, consisting of the pitches D, E, F, G, A, B, and C. Its key signature has one flat. Its relative major is F major and its parallel major is D major. The D natural minor scale is: Changes needed ...
, creating dissonance a
tritone In music theory, the tritone is defined as a interval (music), musical interval spanning three adjacent Major second, whole tones (six semitones). For instance, the interval from F up to the B above it (in short, F–B) is a tritone as it can be ...
away from the tonic. It is written in sonata rondo form and makes extensive use of drones and folk song rhythms. In this movement, the themes of each of the preceding three movements are heard again, against the new rondo theme, including the passacaglia theme of the third movement, which is played ''
fortississimo 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 ...
'', creating a contrast against the movement's largely muted texture. The movement ends, marked ''morendo'' as with the first movement, creating an uncertain finish. The DSCH cryptogram also returns in this movement. A typical performance takes around 9 minutes.


Composition

The string quartet was dedicated to Polish composer Mieczysław Weinberg, a close friend and pupil of Shostakovich. The composers had a mutually influential relationship, as well as a degree of rivalry, which, in part, motivated the dedication. In 1964, Shostakovich wrote:
einbergwrote nine quartets and with the last of them overtook me, since at the time I only had eight. I therefore set myself the challenge of catching up and overtaking Weinberg, which I have now done.
The string quartet is written in the traditional four movements, his only quartet composed after his Sixth Quartet, composed in 1956, to do so. This makes it unlike Shostakovich's other quartets at the time, which deviated from tradition by using a variety of movement structures. Its juxtaposition of
chromatic Diatonic and chromatic are terms in music theory that are used to characterize scales. The terms are also applied to musical instruments, intervals, chords, notes, musical styles, and kinds of harmony. They are very often used as a pair, es ...
and triadic melodies has been noted for its similarity to his Eighth String Quartet, and the melody in the first movement has been said to recall the theme of the first movement of his Fifth Symphony. The structure of the quartet, particularly its combination of calm, relatively quiet introduction and fast, urgent second movement resembles his Tenth Symphony. Its melodies have been described as emblematic of Shostakovich's preference for intervals such as the
major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...
and
minor third In music theory, a minor third is a interval (music), musical interval that encompasses three half steps, or semitones. Staff notation represents the minor third as encompassing three staff positions (see: interval (music)#Number, interval numb ...
. Featuring more minims and
semibreve A whole note (American) or semibreve (British) in musical notation is a single note equivalent to or lasting as long as two half notes or four quarter notes. Description The whole note or semibreve has a note head in the shape of a hollow o ...
s than any of the composer's previous work, it anticipates an interest in silence and slow development that characterises the composer's late period. Its extensive use of
glissandi In music, a glissando (; plural: ''glissandi'', abbreviated ''gliss.'') is a wikt:glide, glide from one pitch (music), pitch to another (). It is an Italianized Musical terminology, musical term derived from the French ''glisser'', "to glide". In ...
, sforzandi, and oscillating semitones has also been described as emblematic of his late style. It employs the rhythm of the "betrayal" motif from Shostakovich's opera, ''
Lady Macbeth Lady Macbeth is a leading character in William Shakespeare's tragedy ''Macbeth'' (). As the wife of the play's tragic hero, Macbeth (a Scottish nobleman), Lady Macbeth goads her husband into committing regicide, after which she becomes quee ...
''. It has also been described as reminiscent in structure of his Third Quartet, for the sequence of the second movement's scherzo, into the third movement's slow passacaglia. Conversely, it foreshadows the austere, subdued mood of Shostakovich's later work, his first quartet since 1956 to not have every movement marked with ''
attacca A variety of musical terms is encountered in Sheet music, printed scores, music reviews, and program notes. Most of the terms Italian musical terms used in English, are Italian, in accordance with the Italian origins of many European musical conv ...
.'' The work was composed over ten days at the
Dilijan Dilijan () is a spa town and urban municipal community in the Dilijan Municipality of the Tavush Province of Armenia. The town is one of the most important resorts in Armenia, situated within the Dilijan National Park. The forested town is home t ...
composers' retreat in Armenia. Some of Shostakovich's works at the time had been subject to condemnation by the Communist Party. His opera ''Katerina Izmailova'' was a 1962 revision of ''Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District'', which had been banned by the Communist government in 1936. Because of this controversy, it premiered with no publicity. Similarly, his Thirteenth Symphony was censored for its sympathy to the Jewish survivors of the
Babi Yar Babi Yar () or Babyn Yar () is a ravine in the Ukraine, Ukrainian capital Kyiv and a site of massacres carried out by Nazi Germany's forces during Eastern Front (World War II), its campaign against the Soviet Union in World War II. The first and ...
massacres.
Ian MacDonald Ian MacCormick (known by the pseudonym Ian MacDonald; 3 October 1948 – 20 August 2003) was an English music critic, journalist and author, best known for both '' Revolution in the Head'', his critical history of the Beatles which borrowed te ...
wrote that an attitude of "disgust" to this reception shaped the "puritanical fury" found in the Tenth String Quartet. The formal choice itself to increasingly compose string quartets over symphonies has been used to support this reading of his work, due to the fact that the string quartet and other chamber forms do not appear on the official list of Soviet genres.


Reception

Its anxious mood has been linked to Shostakovich's declining physical health at the time of composition. Its sparseness has also been suggested to in part result from his health issues and a consequent inability to handwrite complex lines. Approaches which view the work through the lens of Shostakovich's health or relationship to the government have been described as reductive, such as by critic Thomas May, who wrote that this criticism "tends to obscure the musical and artistic experience" and does not account for the "profound sense of ambivalence" the work contains in spite of its aggressive moments. The quartet has also been interpreted as a representation of the struggle between evil, represented by the theme of the second ''furioso'' movement, and human emotions. In this interpretation, the lack of this theme in the fourth movement, where all the other themes are restated, symbolises the possibility of overcoming evil. This interpretation has, however, also been criticised as reductive. The quartet's similarity in structure and melodies to other Shostakovich works has led some critics to describe it as a relatively insignificant composition, such as
Ian MacDonald Ian MacCormick (known by the pseudonym Ian MacDonald; 3 October 1948 – 20 August 2003) was an English music critic, journalist and author, best known for both '' Revolution in the Head'', his critical history of the Beatles which borrowed te ...
, who wrote in ''The New Shostakovich'' that it lacks "the depth or breadth of tsfinest predecessors". Other critics are more positive, such as Richard Taruskin, who described MacDonald's book as a 'travesty', and suggesting that his dismissal of the Tenth Quartet results from a flawed, overly biographical approach to the composer. Additionally, Judith Kuhn wrote that the quartet's second movement is 'perhaps the most successful and exciting of the composer’s attempts to use the string quartet to depict large-scale conflict'.


Influence

The work was
arranged In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchestratio ...
for string orchestra by
Rudolf Barshai Rudolf Borisovich Barshai (, September 28, 1924November 2, 2010) was a Soviet and Russian conductor and violist. Life Barshai was born on September 28, 1924, in Labinsk, Krasnodar Krai, Russian SFSR. He studied at the Moscow Conservatory unde ...
in his Chamber Symphony. Barshai was a friend and colleague of Shostakovich, and frequent conductor of his music, including the premiere of his Fourteenth Symphony. His arrangement is highly faithful to Shostakovich's original, different primarily in its addition of double bass, largely used to emphasise the cello part. Additionally, Anatoli Dmitriev arranged a reduction for
piano four hands Piano four hands (, , ) is a type of piano duet involving two players playing the same piano simultaneously. A duet with the players playing separate instruments is generally referred to as a ''piano duet, piano duo''.Bellingham, Jane"piano du ...
.


Performances and recordings

The work was premiered by 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 ...
in Moscow in 1964. Following this, it was premiered in the UK by the
Alberni Quartet The Alberni Quartet is a British string quartet, whose members have included: * 1st violin Dennis Simons, then Howard Davis, currently Karin Leishman * 2nd violin Howard Davis, then John Knight, then Peter Pople, currently Victoria Sayles * Viol ...
in 1966. Over twenty recordings of the work have been made, the first by the Weller Quartet in 1965. These also include recordings by ensembles that Shostakovich knew and worked with, such as the
Borodin Quartet The Borodin Quartet is a string quartet that was founded in 1945 in the then Soviet Union. It is one of the world's longest-lasting string quartets, having marked its 70th-anniversary season in 2015. The quartet was one of the Soviet Union's best ...
, the Beethoven Quartet, both of whom have released multiple recordings of the work, and 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 ...
, who recorded it in 1998. Several recordings have also been made of Rudolf Barshai's arrangement for string orchestra, including by the Kiev Virtuosi, conducted by
Dmitry Yablonsky Dmitry Albertovich Yablonsky (; born 1962) is a Soviet-born American-israeli classical cellist and conductor, who was educated at the Juilliard School of Music and Yale University. Early life and education Yablonsky was born in Moscow into a mu ...
in 2017 and the Dmitri Ensemble, conducted by Graham Ross, in 2015.


References

{{Authority control #10 1964 compositions Music dedicated to family or friends Compositions in A-flat major