String Quartet No. 1 (Shostakovich)

Dmitri Shostakovich's String Quartet No. 1 in C major, Op. 49, was composed in six weeks during the summer of 1938. He began to work on the quartet on the morning of May 10, 1938 (on the second birthday of his daughter, Galina).^[1] It carries no dedication. Shostakovich said that in this quartet he had "visualized childhood scenes, somewhat naïve and bright moods associated with spring."^[2]^[3]

Premiere

The work was premiered in Leningrad on 10 October 1938 by the Glazunov Quartet. It was also premiered in Moscow on 16 November 1938 by the Beethoven Quartet. This premiere began a lifelong friendship between Shostakovich and the quartet.^[4]

Structure

In the traditional style of a string quartet, the work has four movements:

Playing time is approximately 15 minutes.^[5]

First movement

The first movement, in C major, is in sonata-allegro form. The exposition starts with flowing chords under an opening theme, which then moves to a contrasting second theme. After a brief development section and recapitulation, the movement comes to a close.

Second movement

The slow second movement, in A minor, consists of eight variations on a folk-like melody first played on the solo viola. The movement ends with a pizzicato A minor chord.

Third movement

The third movement, a scherzo, is set in the remote key of C♯ minor. It begins with a rapid theme in ³
₄ time, before moving on to the trio in F♯ major which is slightly more relaxed in tempo. The scherzo is repeated again, with the coda briefly recalling the trio theme.

Fourth movement

The last movement returns to the home key of C major.

References

Notes

^ Lesser, Wendy (2011). Music for silenced voices: Shostakovich and his fifteen quartets. New Haven, Conn.: Yale Univ. Press. p. 31. ISBN 978-0-300-16933-1.
^ Epstein, p. ^{[page needed]}
^ Matthew-Walker 2004, p. 3
^ Senden, p. ^{[page needed]}
^ "Schostakowitsch Werkverzeichnis" (PDF). Hans Sikorski Musikverlage. p. 91. Retrieved 24 September 2021.

Sources

Epstein, Paul. Emerson String Quartet: "Shostakovich: The String Quartets" (CD). Deutsche Gramophone. 2894632842.
Jones, Evan Allan, ed. (2009). Intimate Voices: The Twentieth Century String Quartet, Vol. 2 Shostakovich to the Avant-Garde. University Rochester Press. ISBN 978-1-58046-322-5.
Lesser, Wendy (2011). Music for Silenced Voices. Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-16933-1.
Matthew-Walker, Robert (2004). Shostakovich: Quartet No. 1, Quintet & Trio No. 2 (PDF) (CD). Hyperion Records. CDA67158.
Senden, Yves. Rubio Quartet: "Shostakovich: Complete String Quartets (CD). Brilliant Classics. 6898.

External links

Griffiths, Paul (2012). "Quartet No. 1 in C major for Strings, Op. 49". The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center.
Harris, Stephen (2014). "Shostakovich: the string quartets, Quartet No. 1". Shostakovich: the string quartets.
Parloff, Michael (25 March 2013). "Lecture on Shostakovich Quartets Nos. 1, 5, 6, & 12". YouTube. Archived from the original on 2021-12-19.
Wilson, Elizabeth (2012). The Soviet Experience: Volume II (PDF) (CD). Cedille Records. CDR 90000 130.

[1] Lesser, Wendy (2011). Music for silenced voices: Shostakovich and his fifteen quartets. New Haven, Conn.: Yale Univ. Press. p. 31. ISBN 978-0-300-16933-1.

[2] Epstein, p. ^{[page needed]}

[3] Matthew-Walker 2004, p. 3

[4] Senden, p. ^{[page needed]}

[Sikorski-5] "Schostakowitsch Werkverzeichnis" (PDF). Hans Sikorski Musikverlage. p. 91. Retrieved 24 September 2021.

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