Quatouor Danel

‘Folk Themes’

Shostakovich String Quartet No. 4

Shostakovich String Quartet No. 9

Across three concerts, Quatuor Danel traces the personal and political landscape of Shostakovich’s life through a selection of his string quartets – works he once described as a “diary”. This private world gives unguarded reflections ranging from fleeting joy to grief and introspection to resistance, sardonic humour and the grotesque.

Mentored by the Borodin Quartet, Quatuor Danel has established itself as one of the foremost interpreters of Russian music including the Shostakovich quartets

“I was agog with wonder at the finesse and delicacy” THE TIMES

The three themed concerts explore ‘Friends and Mentors’, ‘Folk Themes’ and ‘From Cradle to Grave’.

‘Folk Themes’:

Quartets 4 and 9 are laced with folk motifs when such references risked censure by the authorities. The Jewish themes in No.4 came at a time when Stalin’s systematic anti-semitic policies were at their height. (Consequently, the work was not performed until after Stalin’s death.) While No.9 was written shortly after Shostakovich had joined – or was coerced into joining – the Communist Party, drawing from the composer music of despair and sinister parody.