Shostakovich's String Quartet No. 9, Op. 117. Dmitri Shostakovich ( Дмитрий Шостакович ) 1906-1975 was a Russian composer and pianist who lived during the Soviet era. His tense relationship with the Soviet government during his lifetime is reflected in his music’s subtle resistance against authoritarianism and characteristically intense emotion. Shostakovich achieved worldwide recognition for his musical output, which included 15 symphonies, three operas, six concerti, film music, many piano and chamber works, and 15 string quartets.
Shostakovich's String Quartet No. 9 has five movements, played without pause:
1. Moderato con moto
2. Adagio
3. Allegretto
4. Adagio
5. Allegro
In 1961, Shostakovich began his Ninth Quartet, however, ‘in an attack of healthy self-criticism, I burnt it in the stove,’ (in his own words). Almost three years later, Shostakovich completed an entirely different Ninth Quartet in a single month, and dedicated it to his third wife, Irina, who he married in 1962. As a result of the Khrushchev ‘thaw,’ Shostakovich, with less fear of censorship, began tentatively composing in a more experimental style, as seen in this work.
Dimitri Shostakovich's Ninth String Quartet begins in the relaxed key of E-flat major, in a vague semblance of sonata form. This sense of calm is quickly undermined by pedal points and undulating accompaniments that are cold and unmusical.
The Adagio that follows without pause begins with a dirge melody in the viola then breaks away to quasi-recitative wanderings in the first violin over sustained chords. A brief recapitulation is followed by gradual speeding up into the third movement.
This crazed polka in F-sharp minor features references to Rossini’s William Tell Overture. This soon becomes sarcastic, featuring violent fortissimos and harsh articulations. The movement concludes with a return to its original form, only with eerie interjections from the violins, playing a slow melody. This becomes the recurring main motif of the fourth movement, alternating with ferocious pizzicato chords.
The final movement begins in an enraged triple-time dance, then slows into a forceful duple time. At its centre is an elaborate fugue that reaches a climax, then moves on to a passionate cello cadenza and a return of the fourth movement’s pizzicato. Finally, back in E-flat, Shostakovich spreads a crescendo over 200 bars, bringing the quartet to an emphatic and violent conclusion.
Shostakovich's Ninth String Quartet was premiered by the Beethoven Quartet in Moscow on Nov. 20, 1964. The next day it was premiered in Leningrad (St. Petersburg).
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