Search - Carducci Quartet :: Shostakovich: String Quartets Nos. 1, 2 & 7

This album marks the second release of the Carduccis Shostakovich 15 project, which includes performances of the complete cycles of the Shostakovich Quartets in cities including Washington DC, London, Oxford, Cardiff, Bogota and concerts throughout the UK to mark the 40th anniversary of the composers death. Described by The Strad as presenting a masterclass in unanimity of musical purpose, in which severity could melt seamlessly into charm, and drama into geniality, the Carducci Quartet is recognized as one of todays most successful string quartets. This release contrasts Shostakovichs first two string quartets with the seventh composed in memory of his late wife Nina. In composing his quartets prior to No. 7, Shostakovich had scrupulously followed a predetermined sequence of keys: according to this, the work should have been in E flat major. However Shostakovich, significantly, chose to break this pattern by writing his new quartet in F sharp minor, the key associated with such anguished music as Peters remorse in Bachs St John Passion, and particularly close to Shostakovichs heart Mahlers unfinished Tenth Symphony.