Classical Music | Ensemble Music

Recorded on 09/14/2014, uploaded on 04/11/2014

Musician's or Publisher's Notes

I. Moderato con moto -- II. Adagio -- III. Allegretto -- IV. Adagio -- V. Allegro

The ninth quartet came into being during a time that is viewed by some as Shostakovich's succumbing at last to lifelong temptation by the Soviet machine, after a career of being either lauded, tormented, or silenced by it. As a young composer, he was recognized as a huge talent by the Stalinist regime, which provided him with a steady stream of commissions and international opportunities. As his style matured, and his musical identity developed, the government became highly suspicious of subtext in his work, and, despite audience acclaim, withdrew pieces that were deemed subversive. The government thus acted as a force that single-handedly enabled or crippled his career as it saw fit.

When Khrushchev came to power, he condemned the Stalinist regime and invited Shostakovich to become the General Secretary of the Composer's Union, but doing so required the composer to join the Communist Party, which he had successfully avoided doing all throughout the previous regime. Buying into Khrushchev's facade as a progressive reformer, Shostakovich joined the Party, and from then on, struggled with the question of breaching his integrity to continue his art. This, in conjunction with failing health in the last decade of his life lends contradiction, tumult, and resignation to his music, all of which are clearly heard in the quartet.  -Herine Coetzee Koschak (cello)

Courtesy of International Music Foundation.