Mieczyslaw Weinberg (1919-1996) – String Quartet No.3, in d minor, opus 14 (1940)
- Presto attacca
- Andante sostenuto attacca
- Allegretto
Performers: Quatuor Danel
CD: CPO
Dmitri Shostakovich (1906-1975) – String Quartet No.2, in A-flat major, opus 68 (1944)
- Overture (moderato con moto)
- Recitative and Romance (Adagio)
- Waltz (Allegro)
- Theme and variations (Adagio)
Performers: Quatuor Danel
CD: Alpha Classics
In the first year of the war, Moisei Vaynberg, who went by his Russian name, Mieczyslaw Weinberg, composed his Third String Quartet, opus 14. By now, he knew much of Shostakovich’s music but still had yet to meet the man himself. Something that happened in October 1943. From then on, the two regularly played each other’s compositions, discussed all kinds of things, had a good drink and celebrated a friendship that would last until Shostakovich’s death in 1975. The result of that friendship can be heard in the Fourth String Quartet, in A gr.t., opus 68. Not least in its finale, with a Jewish theme borrowed from the Second Piano Trio, resembling a klezmer melody.
