SHOSTAKOVICH, D.: String Quartets Nos. 5-8 / MYASKOVSKY, N.: String Quartet No. 13 (The Soviet Experience, Vol. 1) (Pacifica Quartet) | ClassicsOnline Classical Music CD mp3 downloads | Free preview streaming

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ClassicsOnline Home » SHOSTAKOVICH, D.: String Quartets Nos. 5-8 / MYASKOVSKY, N.: String Quartet No. 13 (The Soviet Experience, Vol. 1) (Pacifica Quartet)

Work/Track Title	Time	USD Price	MP3 Tracks
SHOSTAKOVICH, D.: String Quartets Nos. 5-8 / MYASKOVSKY, N.: String Quartet No. 13 (The Soviet Experience, Vol. 1) (Pacifica Quartet)	1:56:45
DISC 1

String Quartet No. 5 in B flat major, Op. 92

I. Allegretto non troppo

11:31

2.99

II. Andante

9:26

1.99

III. Moderato - Allegretto

10:47

2.99

String Quartet No. 6 in G major, Op. 101

I. Allegretto

7:07

1.99

II. Moderato con moto

5:42

1.99

III. Lento

5:24

1.99

		IV. Lento - Allegretto - Andante Shostakovich, Dmitry-Classical Composer \| Pacifica Quartet-Ensemble			7:18		1.99
		DISC 2

String Quartet No. 7 in F sharp minor, Op. 108

I. Allegretto

3:28

0.99

II. Lento

3:16

0.99

III. Allegro - Allegretto

5:27

1.99

String Quartet No. 8 in C minor, Op. 110

I. Largo

5:08

1.99

II. Allegro molto

2:42

0.99

III. Allegretto

4:33

0.99

IV. Largo

5:45

1.99

V. Largo

3:46

0.99

String Quartet No. 13 in A minor, Op. 86

I. Moderato

7:57

1.99

II. Presto fantastico

5:54

1.99

III. Andante con moto e molto cantabile

6:47

1.99

IV. Molto vivo, energico

4:47

0.99

Total Selected Album Items ( 0 ) Sub-Total Amount ( 0 )

Published Reviews

By Rick Anderson
Baker & Taylor CD Hotlist
01-May-2012

Dmitri Shostakovich’s string quartets remain some of the most fascinating…works in the classical repertoire…There’s no question, however, that they offer a fascinating listening experience on a purely musical level, not to mention a significant challenge to the musicians that take them on. The Pacifica Quartet is more than equal to that challenge, and their pairing of Shostokovich’s quartets nos. 5 through 8 with Miaskovsky’s quartet no 13 is an inspired move…It’s an excellent program all around. © 2012 Baker & Taylor CD Hotlist Read complete

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By Michael Cookson
MusicWeb International
30-Mar-2012

The String Quartet No. 5 in B flat major, Op. 92 comes from one of the most extreme periods of Stalinist terror in Russia. It was premièred just after Stalin’s death in late 1953 but had been written a year earlier, in 1952. At the start of the first movement the viola’s first four notes are a combination of the composer’s personal D-S-C-H motif. A complex and challenging work, the three movement quartet is performed without a break. In the central movement Andante/Andantino, attacca—the emotional core—the Pacifica convey a sense of total desolation like a bleak landscape, ghostly and unforgiving.

When the String Quartet No. 6 in G major, Op. 101 was written in 1956 Stalin had been dead for three years. Composers experienced a thawing of the cultural restrictions. At this time Shostakovich was emotionally distraught due to the sudden death of his wife Nina in the winter of 1954 with the additional grief of his mother dying the next year. However, in 1956 shortly before completing the score Shostakovich had quickly married Margarita Kainova. Cast in four movements the generally melodious score is lighter, certainly far less complex than its predecessor and it conveys a restrained beauty. In the third movement—Lento, attacca, the soul of the quartet, a Passacaglia—the playing has a deep concentration and intensity ensuring an uncomfortable journey and an aching fatigue.

The marriage to Margarita was unsuccessful and they were soon divorced in 1959. Composed in 1960 he dedicated his String Quartet No. 7 in F sharp minor, Op. 108 to his first wife Nina who been dead for five years. Significant is his choice of F sharp minor—a key which is conventionally related with pain and suffering. It seems appropriate in reflecting the composer’s grief. The score is the shortest of all Shostakovich’s quartets and lasts here for just over12 minutes. This concise three movement structure with its conflicting moods has been said to mirror the ups and downs of his marriage to Nina. There’s remarkably expressive playing from the Pacifica in the Finale marked Allegro—Allegretto (Adagio) commencing with a Fugue—wild, angry and briskly energetic. It represents what could be described as the barking of an aggressive dog. From 2:40 the music calms and regains composure yet a sense of unease is never far away.

Extremely popular in recital and on record is the String Quartet No. 8 in C minor, Op. 110 from 1960. It bears a dedication to ‘The Victims of Fascism and War’. It was written, it seems, in a just a few days whilst on a working trip outside Soviet Russia in the Communist State of East Germany near Dresden. Shostakovich had seen at first hand the destruction that Allied bombing had inflicted on Dresden. Set with numerous self-quotations including the near incessant use of the D-S-C-H motif the score could be described as a musical autobiogra
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By Peter J. Rabinowitz
Fanfare
01-Mar-2012

the Pacifica’s ensemble is flawless, and while they can rip you apart with the hammer blows at the beginning of the Eighth’s fourth movement, they’re capable of enrapturing you with their timbral beauty as well… © 2012 Fanfare Read complete review on Fanfare

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