The String Quartet

Dmitri Shostakovich (1906-1975) – String Quartet No. 10 in A-flat major, Op. 118 (1964)

Andante, 2. Allegretto furioso, 3. Adagio, 4. Allegretto
Performers: Quatuor Danel

CD: Alpha Classics

Mieczyslaw Weinberg (1919-1996) – String Quartet No. 10 in A minor, Op. 85 (1964/65)

Adagio, 2. Allegro, 3. Adagio, 4. Allegretto
Performers: Quatuor Danel

CD: CPO

Mieczyslaw Weinberg (1919-1996) – String Quartet No. 11 in F major, Op. 89 (1965/66)

Allegro assai
Performers: Quatuor Danel

CD: CPO

Shostakovich’s Tenth String Quartet, in A-flat major, Op. 118, is a grimmer piece than the previous one, even though it was written in the same year. With the arrival of Leonid Brezhnev, a period of liberalization of about ten years had come to an end. Among the composers, the course had to be changed. Many young people go underground culturally and make every effort to have their works performed abroad, because in the Soviet Union that possibility seems almost impossible. Weinberg’s Tenth String Quartet, in A minor, Op. 85, is his reaction to Shostakovich’s work. Weinberg follows the same structure as his friend did, but his music is more dissonant and even grimmer. As an addition, the first movement from Weinberg’s Eleventh String Quartet in F major, Op. 89.