Dmitri Shostakovich
Born St Petersburg, 25 September 1906; Died Moscow, 9 August 1975

Two Pieces for String Quartet: Elegy & Polka
Elegy: Adagio
Polka: Allegretto

The fifteen string quartets of Dmitri Shostakovich (1906-1975) occupy an important place in the chamber music repertoire, but the composer did not try his hand at this form until relatively late in his career. By the time he completed his first full string quartet in 1938 he was already thirty-two and had written five symphonies and a large amount of music for film and the theatre, including two operas.

These Two Pieces for String Quartet are transcriptions from two of Shostakovich's theatrical works, arranged by the composer in one evening as a gift to the Vuillaume Quartet. The beautiful Elegy is based on Katerina’s aria in Act I, Scene 3 of his opera Lady Macbeth of Mtensk. In this scene in the opera Katerina is lamenting the boredom and oppression of an unhappy marriage.

The grotesque Polka first appeared in Shostakovich's ballet The Age of Gold, in which the twisted character of the music is a fitting accompaniment to a scene satirising politicians from the League of Nations. The composer also transcribed this piece for jazz band, chamber orchestra, orchestra, solo piano, and as a popular song.

[Programme note: Robert Ibell]