Search - Dmitry Shostakovich, Cavani Quartet :: Shostakovich: String Quartets 1,7 & 14

First rate pieces, first rate performances

S. A. Felton | southern OR USA | 03/05/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I've had the great pleasure of hearing these very, very talented
ladies perform in my area 2 summers, where they were also conducting
workshops. I bought this CD in the hall after one of the performances,
but didn't really appreciate it until I had bought the complete set
of Shostakovich's 15 quartets. I absolutely recommend that anyone
buy the complete set also, but if you only want a sampling, really a
a subset, I don't think you'll do better than this CD. As with Beethoven, Shostakovich's string quartets are milestones in
both the personal and compositional history of the composer, though in
this case Shostakovich had already written his landmark 5th symphony
before penning the first string quartet. In this phase of his life
the composer was in serious trouble with Stalin and his henchmen, though
he did get some reprieve from the symphony. The other two string quartets
on the CD are #7 and #14. The latter is significant because it represents
the composer's trying to come to terms with his immminent death. For what
it's worth the program notes quote him as saying that he felt that there
was "nothing, nothing" beyond death, and you can definitely here this
"blunt pessimisim" in the #14. Yet to his credit, Shostakovich composed a
number of first-rate pieces even while very ill. The musicians here have the feel of seemingly every note, every
nuance. When I listen to Shostakovich I think of a Russian word which
means suffering, the pervasive, perhaps even hopeless suffering that seems
to be endemic to Russian life. I feel it very deeply in parts of these
string quartets because of the very sensitive performances. Yet the allegro
movements that conclude the first and seventh quartets are uplifting, also
intense! An added bonus are the program notes, which are among the best I've read -
very complete yet succinct."