Mandelring Quartett - Shostakovich: Complete String Quartets Vol.3 (2008) [SACD]

Following the release of the Mandelring Quartett's highly acclaimed first and second volume of the Complete String Quartets of Dmitri Shostakovich, they have now recorded a third volume containing another three. There is no doubt that Ludwig van Beethoven's legacy was fundamental in the creation of Dmitri Shostakovich's String Quartets which are outstanding both in their craftsmanship and spirituality. The Russian master approached the classicist composer via different paths, experimenting with a suite-like variety of forms and extending his expressional spectrum to great heights. The String Quartets No. 5 (1952), No. 7 (1960) and No. 9 (1964) are also convincing in their palette of forms and expressions on a chamber music level, as well as their technical demands and cyclical links between movements. The confessional character of the works is determined by three secret acknowledgements: to his beloved pupil Galina Ustvolskaya, his late wife Nina and his third wife to whom Shostakovich dedicated his ninth string quartet. The Complete Edition of all fifteen String Quartets by Shostakovich: an imposing corpus of works in which the highly decorated Soviet "model composer" maintained his inner non-conformism.


Tracks:

String Quartet No. 5 In B Flat Major, Op. 92. (30:43)
1. Allegro Non Troppo. 11:26
2. Andante. 8:54
3. Moderato. 10:23
String Quartet No. 7 In F Sharp Minorr, Op. 108. (11:56)
4. Allegretto. 3:38
5. Lento. 2:54
6. Allegro. 5:24
String Quartet No. 9 In E Flat Major, Op. 117. (25:10)
7. Moderato Con Moto. 4:29
8. Adagio. 4:34
9. Allegretto. 4:15
10. Adagio. 3:03
11. Allegro. 8:49

Personnel:

Cello – Bernhard Schmidt
Viola – Roland Glassl
Violin – Nanette Schmidt, Sebastian Schmidt