Shostakovich String Quartet No.8 (Emerson Quartet) Deutches Grammohone, 1999

Description: Review (2012): This is not a piece of music that sits in the background. This demands active listening. I won't go over the story behind the composition here, not because it's fairly well known (which it is), but because it's clear just from listening what's going on. Every note is perfect, and Shostakovich never falls into the trap of letting the form of the composition dictate the content. Frankly, it's hard for me to listen to this without crying - it's that good. This is a Deutsche Grammophone recording, so the sounds quality is up to their usual exacting standards. I have yet to encounter a more moving composition. My spouse refuses to listen past the first movement because of how emotionally overwhelming it is. This is what music is supposed to be. Review (2000, 5 stars): My first introduction to Shostakovich Quartets was the Borodin Quartet,who bring the overwhelming power that these quartets certainly can imply.They do that with an aggressive approach to gesture where you can almost visualize the rosen dust hovering above the proceedings, where the impassioned tones as in the Allegro molto here almost bend out of tune. You sense this with Emerson however these gents are ever so sensitive and gentle coaxing the ethereal spiritual qualities from this quartet a reading seldom encountered. This lightness is forever present in the first violin, well the upper heavenly regions who has a difficult time, like a lone voice from a devastated village, weeping against his more brooding dark brethren.At first I thought this light sensibility distracted me from the focus of this work, But no. The subject of the Quartet is devoted to the victims of fascism and war, the Second World War, actually a frequent subject in of this composer. Shostakovich himself is no stranger to political struggle nor inexperience with the atrocities of this century, having experienced it first hand, having friends disappear around him, humiliated himself with the mindlessness of the cultural apparatchiks in Stalin's bureaucracy.The disappeared is something we have come to associate with the in Central and South America in our times. but the voice of Shostakovich's profoundly extends to the present.If this Quartet has any content it is because it extends itself into the modern,for these atrocities haven't abated.If it ends, forecloses its content for the unknown millions of the Forties, of fascism and that war the Quartet has a museum quality, a content for passive reflection in the safe confines of our homes.I cannot except that view. This Quartet along with The Fourth are those which imply this timeless content, a voice that extends to the present. Musically the structure implies this and is felt in marking this Quartet framed oppressively with Largos,then flying into the welter of violence in Allegro molto.

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End Time: 2024-12-06T18:52:53.000Z

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Item Specifics

All returns accepted: ReturnsNotAccepted

Artist: Shostakovich, Emerson Quartet

CD Grading: Excellent (EX)

Record Label: Deutsche Grammophon

Occasion: everyday

Case Type: Jewel Case: Standard

Custom Bundle: No

Inlay Condition: Good (G)

Format: CD

Unit Type: Unit

Release Year: 1999

Language: English

Style: Quartet

Features: DDD

Performer Orchestra: n.a.

Unit Quantity: 1

Composer: Shostakovich

Release Title: Shostakovich String Quartet No.8

Color: Multicolor

Case Condition: Excellent (EX)

Edition: DDD

Type: Album

Producer: n.a.

Era: Classic: Modern (1900-1975)

Instrument: quartet

Conductor: n.a.

Run Time: 20

Genre: Classical

Country/Region of Manufacture: Germany