Elisa Barston, Mikhail Shmidt, violins; Mara Gearman, viola; Walter Gray, cello.
Presented as a "war quartet", Shostakovich initially gave subtitles to each of the movements: 1. "Calm unawareness of the future cataclysm"; 2. "Rumblings of unrest and anticipation"; 3. "The forces of war are unleashed"; 4. "Homage to the dead"; and 5. "The eternal question: why and to what purpose?"
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