The String Quartet

Sergei Prokofiev (1891-1953) – String Quartet No.2, in F major, opus 92 (1941)

Allegro sostenuto, 2. Adagio, 3. Allegro – Andante molto
Performers: Pavel Haas Quartet

CD: Supraphon

Vissarion Shebalin (1902-1963) – String Quartet No.5, in F major, opus 33 ‘Slavonic’ (1942)

Moderato – Allegro energico, 2. Andante, 3. Allegretto graciozo, 4. Andante, 5. Allegro energico
Performers: Borodin Quartet

CD: Melodiya

Nikolay Mjaskowski (1881-1950) – String Quartet no.6, in g-flat major, opus 49 (1939/40)

Allegro energico e con fuoco
Performers: Taneyev String Quartet

CD: Northern Flowers

During the war years, the Soviet government did everything in its power to keep composers on the sidelines. After all, they had to keep up the morale of the soldiers and civilian population with their heroic music. Thus, numerous composers were placed far from the front, especially in the southeast of the Soviet Union. Sergei Prokofiev, for instance, was evacuated to the town of Nalchik in Kabardia-Balkaria (the northern part of Caucasia, bordering Georgia), where he composed his Second String Quartet, in F gr.t., opus 92, with numerous folk melodies from this region.

Shebalin’s five-movement Fifth string quartet in F gr.t. is known as the Slavic Quartet. He wrote it in 1942, the year he became director of the Moscow Conservatory. Befitting a time of war, it is highly ‘national’ in character, with references to the music of Tchaikovsky.