Shostakovich String Quartet No. 8 in C minor (Op. 110) World Premiere (1960) Beethoven Quartet Small Hall of the Leningrad Philharmonic October 2, 1960 Radio Petersburg
It is fantastic to hear THE premiere of this phenomenal work. It was fully born on that day! My mother's major professor for the post-graduate studies is the first violin (D. Tzyganov).
Considering my teacher was taught by one of the violinists of this quartet, and I learned how to play this quartet from him, this is really quite something to be able to hear. Thank you for putting it up - I think that I shall understand this piece far better now.
I remember also recording of 13th quartet of this same group, it was excellent! (Later I listened the Borodin quartet`s recording, but it was not the same level, surprisingly.)
Ο Σοστακόβιτς έκανε μέσα στο 1959 αρκετά ταξίδια στο εξωτερικό. Παρακολούθησε μια σύνοδο του Παγκόσμιου Συμβούλιου Ειρήνης στη Σουηδία, το Ανοιξιάτικο Φεστιβάλ της Πράγας και το φθινοπωρινό της Βαρσοβίας. Τον Οχτώβρη μαζί με τους Τίχον Χρένικοφ, Ντμίτρι Καπαλέφσκι, Φικρέτ Αμίροφ, Κονσταντίν Ντάνκεβιτς και Μπορίς Γιαρουστόφσκι έκαναν μια εκτεταμένη περιοδεία στις ΗΠΑ. Η αντιπροσωπεία των σοβιετικών μουσικών επισκέφτηκε την Ουάσιγκτον, το Σαν Φραντσίσκο, το Λός Άντζελες, το Λούισβιλ, τη Φιλαδέλφεια και τη Νέα Υόρκη. Στις 24 του Οχτώβρη η Εθνική Συμφωνική Ορχήστρα υπό τον Γκ. Μίτσελ έπαιξε τη Δέκατη Συμφωνία, παρουσία του συνθέτη, στο Κονστιτιούσιον Χολ της Ουάσιγκτον. Οι σοβιετικοί μουσικοί έδωσαν συνέντευξη τύπου στο ξενοδοχείο Σέρατον Πάρκ στην οποία ο Σοστακόβιτς απαντώντας σε ερώτηση δημοσιογράφου είπε τα παρακάτω: «Θεωρώ ΤΟ Κομμουνιστικό Κόμμα της Σοβιετικής Ένωσης σαν την πιο προοδευτική δύναμη του κόσμου. Πάντοτε έπαιρνα υπόψη μου τις συμβουλές του και θα συνεχίσω να το κάνω ως το τέλος της ζωής μου». ΝΤΜΙΤΡΙ ΣΟΣΤΑΚΟΒΙΤΣ για τον ίδιο και την εποχή του σελ. 243-244 εκδ. ΣΥΓΧΡΟΝΗ ΕΠΟΧΗ-----Ντμίτρι Σοστακόβιτς - «Κουαρτέτο εγχόρδων Νο 8», μεταγραφή για ορχήστρα εγχόρδων. Το συγκεκριμένο έργο είναι αφιερωμένο στα θύματα του πολέμου και του φασισμού και γράφτηκε το 1960, ενώ ο συνθέτης βρισκόταν στη Δρέσδη μαζί με κινηματογραφικό συνεργείο, για την πραγματοποίηση των γυρισμάτων της ταινίας «Πέντε μέρες - Πέντε νύχτες». Η σύνθεση του έργου έγινε κάτω από το βάρος των εντυπώσεων του συνθέτη τόσο από τα γυρίσματα της ταινίας, όσο και από τις αφηγήσεις των κατοίκων της περιοχής για τις θηριωδίες των ναζί στα στρατόπεδα συγκέντρωσης, αλλά και για τη φρίκη του βομβαρδισμού της Δρέσδης, από τα βρετανικά και αμερικανικά αεροπλάνα στο τέλος του Β' Παγκοσμίου Πολέμου.
Superb musicianship, magnificent rendering of Shostakovich's tragic quartet. Granite-like sound reminiscent of Klemperer. I'm sure the composer was deeply moved. A couple of slips, perhaps as a result of editing the recording, completely irrelevant to this profoundly moving musical experience
Never mind the sound this is fantastic! It has the power not only to reflect on the past but to enhance our present experience. This is the music of our time given the Ukraine debacle.
@CRCVDE "One of the instruments"? It was the first violinist repeating one bar by mistake, and he also miscounted the last bar. Big deal!! Worse things happen in the first performance, routinely! The lower strings realigned themselves in rehearsal 33. And it was a mighty fast realignment. Gloating at mistakes of historical premieres ain't very cool
I'm not sure about who performed better, but imho I prefer Borodin quartet so much more than Beethoven. I'm not a musician but the phrasing here just seems very rushed and manufactured (?). The dread, anxiety and raw emotion you can hear in Borodin's recording is on a completely different level. It could also be the poor audio quality of the recording.
Strange, when it comes to the faster movements Borodin's performances seem to be extremely robotic yet they sound like they haven't practiced enough. I'd say Emerson SQ are the best interpreters of Shostakovich's quartets yet.
It's cool to hear the premiere performance of this piece. I'm certainly no expert on classical music but I have a fair number of classical CDs and LPs in my collection. I really think Shostakovich's quartets are some of the most compelling 20th century "classical" pieces and I have several versions of these works including those by the Emerson SQ and the Borodin SQ. However I think the most exciting recording I have of this piece is by the Carducci SQ, a relatively younger group from the UK.
@@vladiinsky There are several string quartets being discussed above (Beethoven SQ, Emerson SQ & Borodin SQ) so when you say "nobody even comes close!", it is not clear which one you are referring to.
I understand the rush for world premieres but this level is somewhat disappointing for a professional quartet. For some reason I doubt this is actually what it is titled. It's not bad though. It's actually quite good.
Yes, it was the real premiere... And yes, it is "actually quite good" :) although, personally, I prefer the Borodin's quartet version(s)... but I am partial there
Technically not very good, this version of the most popular of Shostakowitsch's string quartet has ONLY an historical interest. It shows us how Shostakowitsch's works were understood in sixties. The Live recording only two years later in Edinburgh by the Borodin SQ (with Dmitri Shebalin at the viola) is always unsurpassable.
![Heavy Metal on Strings: Shostakovich String Quartet No. 8 [DOVER QUARTET]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Vv3ghWE2txg/mqdefault.jpg)
![Heavy Metal on Strings: Shostakovich String Quartet No. 8 [DOVER QUARTET]](/img/tr.png)
It is fantastic to hear THE premiere of this phenomenal work. It was fully born on that day! My mother's major professor for the post-graduate studies is the first violin (D. Tzyganov).
Friendship ended with Beethoven, now Shostakovich is my best friend.
Hey, they are both fantastic :)
Considering my teacher was taught by one of the violinists of this quartet, and I learned how to play this quartet from him, this is really quite something to be able to hear. Thank you for putting it up - I think that I shall understand this piece far better now.
Beautiful!! Love the emotion that his piece brings!
Shivers all down my spine, outstanding
Remarkable historical find -- thank you for posting!
crazy times and inspiration for this music to begin with- CHEERS!
Thank you for publishing it. Enjoyed a lot!
sad but beautiful
I remember also recording of 13th quartet of this same group, it was excellent! (Later I listened the Borodin quartet`s recording, but it was not the same level, surprisingly.)
Ο Σοστακόβιτς έκανε μέσα στο 1959 αρκετά ταξίδια στο εξωτερικό. Παρακολούθησε μια σύνοδο του Παγκόσμιου Συμβούλιου Ειρήνης στη Σουηδία, το Ανοιξιάτικο Φεστιβάλ της Πράγας και το φθινοπωρινό της Βαρσοβίας. Τον Οχτώβρη μαζί με τους Τίχον Χρένικοφ, Ντμίτρι Καπαλέφσκι, Φικρέτ Αμίροφ, Κονσταντίν Ντάνκεβιτς και Μπορίς Γιαρουστόφσκι έκαναν μια εκτεταμένη περιοδεία στις ΗΠΑ. Η αντιπροσωπεία των σοβιετικών μουσικών επισκέφτηκε την Ουάσιγκτον, το Σαν Φραντσίσκο, το Λός Άντζελες, το Λούισβιλ, τη Φιλαδέλφεια και τη Νέα Υόρκη. Στις 24 του Οχτώβρη η Εθνική Συμφωνική Ορχήστρα υπό τον Γκ. Μίτσελ έπαιξε τη Δέκατη Συμφωνία, παρουσία του συνθέτη, στο Κονστιτιούσιον Χολ της Ουάσιγκτον. Οι σοβιετικοί μουσικοί έδωσαν συνέντευξη τύπου στο ξενοδοχείο Σέρατον Πάρκ στην οποία ο Σοστακόβιτς απαντώντας σε ερώτηση δημοσιογράφου είπε τα παρακάτω: «Θεωρώ ΤΟ Κομμουνιστικό Κόμμα της Σοβιετικής Ένωσης σαν την πιο προοδευτική δύναμη του κόσμου. Πάντοτε έπαιρνα υπόψη μου τις συμβουλές του και θα συνεχίσω να το κάνω ως το τέλος της ζωής μου». ΝΤΜΙΤΡΙ ΣΟΣΤΑΚΟΒΙΤΣ για τον ίδιο και την εποχή του σελ. 243-244 εκδ. ΣΥΓΧΡΟΝΗ ΕΠΟΧΗ-----Ντμίτρι Σοστακόβιτς - «Κουαρτέτο εγχόρδων Νο 8», μεταγραφή για ορχήστρα εγχόρδων. Το συγκεκριμένο έργο είναι αφιερωμένο στα θύματα του πολέμου και του φασισμού και γράφτηκε το 1960, ενώ ο συνθέτης βρισκόταν στη Δρέσδη μαζί με κινηματογραφικό συνεργείο, για την πραγματοποίηση των γυρισμάτων της ταινίας «Πέντε μέρες - Πέντε νύχτες». Η σύνθεση του έργου έγινε κάτω από το βάρος των εντυπώσεων του συνθέτη τόσο από τα γυρίσματα της ταινίας, όσο και από τις αφηγήσεις των κατοίκων της περιοχής για τις θηριωδίες των ναζί στα στρατόπεδα συγκέντρωσης, αλλά και για τη φρίκη του βομβαρδισμού της Δρέσδης, από τα βρετανικά και αμερικανικά αεροπλάνα στο τέλος του Β' Παγκοσμίου Πολέμου.
Superb musicianship, magnificent rendering of Shostakovich's tragic quartet. Granite-like sound reminiscent of Klemperer. I'm sure the composer was deeply moved. A couple of slips, perhaps as a result of editing the recording, completely irrelevant to this profoundly moving musical experience
This was a live performance on the radio. No editing. And Shostakovich was always pleased with every performance of his works, at least outwardly...
The "slips" are from the old vinyl it seems.
Jerusalem Quartet playing this beautiful piece in famous concert hall in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland, Friday 28th January 2022.
This piece (The chamber version anyway) always reminded me of the movie Psycho. What a coincidence they were written the same year.
Never mind the sound this is fantastic! It has the power not only to reflect on the past but to enhance our present experience. This is the music of our time given the Ukraine debacle.
The best performance of this String Quartet so far
I like the way this quartet pays homage to Beethoven.
listen from 6:14 one of the instruments gets one bar behind :p (you can hear him play the last bar at the end of the movement)
LOL
I counted many mistakes in this recording. Enough to consider it amateur! Although the age of the recording may be a factor -- One couldn't be sure.
Nice comment on Shostakovich's preferred quartet, which created most of his string quartets!
th-cam.com/video/gwostsHeRdw/w-d-xo.html
@CRCVDE
"One of the instruments"? It was the first violinist repeating one bar by mistake, and he also miscounted the last bar. Big deal!! Worse things happen in the first performance, routinely! The lower strings realigned themselves in rehearsal 33. And it was a mighty fast realignment. Gloating at mistakes of historical premieres ain't very cool
comrades!!
Try the st. Petersburg quartets rendering of dmitri's c minor quartet. you'll thank me later, if ya can find it:)
Did they mess up a few times or is that just me?
Its Jazz, baby
Hardly
I'm not sure about who performed better, but imho I prefer Borodin quartet so much more than Beethoven. I'm not a musician but the phrasing here just seems very rushed and manufactured (?).
The dread, anxiety and raw emotion you can hear in Borodin's recording is on a completely different level. It could also be the poor audio quality of the recording.
Strange, when it comes to the faster movements Borodin's performances seem to be extremely robotic yet they sound like they haven't practiced enough. I'd say Emerson SQ are the best interpreters of Shostakovich's quartets yet.
nobody even comes close!
They're first on this Time--"world premiere" Performance-- Masters! That recording from alive Concert 1960y. Most Tragic middle age DSCH !
It's cool to hear the premiere performance of this piece. I'm certainly no expert on classical music but I have a fair number of classical CDs and LPs in my collection. I really think Shostakovich's quartets are some of the most compelling 20th century "classical" pieces and I have several versions of these works including those by the Emerson SQ and the Borodin SQ. However I think the most exciting recording I have of this piece is by the Carducci SQ, a relatively younger group from the UK.
@@vladiinsky There are several string quartets being discussed above (Beethoven SQ, Emerson SQ & Borodin SQ) so when you say "nobody even comes close!", it is not clear which one you are referring to.
I understand the rush for world premieres but this level is somewhat disappointing for a professional quartet. For some reason I doubt this is actually what it is titled. It's not bad though. It's actually quite good.
it does sound like a radio broadcast. and they get the gist of it.
Yes, it was the real premiere... And yes, it is "actually quite good" :) although, personally, I prefer the Borodin's quartet version(s)... but I am partial there
Which LP or CD is this from??
Technically not very good, this version of the most popular of Shostakowitsch's string quartet has ONLY an historical interest. It shows us how Shostakowitsch's works were understood in sixties. The Live recording only two years later in Edinburgh by the Borodin SQ (with Dmitri Shebalin at the viola) is always unsurpassable.