Shostakovich: String Quartets Nos. 2, 7 and 10

The 15 string quartets that Dmitri Shostakovich composed established him as a master of the genre. These works show him in his most concentrated and intimate form. Although each is quite different in form and structure, every bar reveals an aspect of the composer's character, from wild humor to black despair, with a pervasive nervous tension. Without lyrics, descriptive titles, or an obvious public agenda, they can be heard as revelations of the composer's musicality in its most fundamental form.

The Jerusalem Quartet presents three Shostakovich quartets on their first release for BIS Records. Although String Quartet No. 2 was composed in 1944, its character is elusive and there is no direct reference to the war. Nevertheless, it is a substantial work, dark, powerful, and sometimes dissonant. The 7th String Quartet, which consists of three short movements played without interruption, is an enigmatic and deeply personal work dedicated to the memory of the composer's wife. Despite all its questions and complex inner references, String Quartet No. 10 is among the most immediately appealing of his later works. At this stage in his life, Shostakovich tended to speak in a quieter voice and for a more intimate audience.