"Shostakovich" 16th Quartet

This quartet is a new discovery by the Bordars quartet. Sadly, the manuscript was destroyed at the Zhislin studios shortly after the premiere. (Well, just a copy actually - see below for details).

*Due to numerous questions about this quartet that we have received since the upload, here is a quick blurb.
(I have talked to Irina Antonovna (Sh) and she elaborated on some of the details.)

This quartet is, of course, not "the last piece" Shostakovich wrote. (And it is not "completely" by Shostakovich). Actually, Shostakovich wrote about "a half" of what you hear here in the early 60s (around the time of 7th and 8th quartet composition). The manuscript sketch of this movement was in pencil and the pages were filed in a type of folder Sh. usually used for his official documents.
Shortly after this sketch was written, Shostakovich was actually supposed to meet with Schnittke (read Ivashkin, for details on that meeting). However, that day Schnittke was detained by militia (soviet police) and was late for the meeting. Sh. was angry (because he valued his time greatly) and did not spend much time with Sch. on that visit (the two never met again). He simply handed over the official papers (I forgot which, and why Sch needed them) over to Schnittke and excused himself.
This is where it gets interesting. When Schnittke came home he found that in that folder below the papers was a sketch for the quartet.
The exact details of what happened after are not known, but according to Irina Schnittke, her husband once showed her his "movement" for string quartet "to the memory of D.Shostakovich" in the early 90s. Then, in late 2002, when Irina Schnittke was going through the composer's archive in Hamburg, she suddenly happened upon the sketch (still in the official folder) from Shostakovich. She then examined the "movement" that Alfred showed her and found striking similarity. In fact, the sketch was incomplete, but had the basic "shostakovich" narrative laid out (with a lot of motivic development as heard in this performance - consider for instance the climax around 1:50). Schnittke must have filled it in with his own material and put it aside after this completion. (This movement was never listed among Schnittke's official works). Irina Schnittke, who by that time became very well acquainted with the viola player from Bordars, decided to have this movement be given an "unofficial" premiere in London. Of course, the problem is that due to this "problem of authorship", Irina Shostakovich and Irina Schnittke are currently in dispute over who the original manuscript belongs should belong to. I'll update once I know more about this matter from private sources.

Therefore, to answer one question, I don't believe we will be hearing a "no.17" at any point :)


enjoy!

Category:

Music

Tags:

• shostakovich
• 16th
• quartet
• bordars
• string
• 4tet
• violin
• viola
• cello
• borodin

[budovatel1]

I don't think, that shostakovich wrote 16th quartet..

[a1s2d3f4g5q1w2e3]

Read description

[theviolaprince]

It reminds me the war times!

[a1s2d3f4g5q1w2e3]

Yes, like that time in 1942. Shostakovich had already composed his 7th Symphony. And that we know it, and this quartet, is quite remarkable really.

[ViktorGlazunov]

Well, what a great discovery! I would be interested to find out where you got the music from. I have checked a few websites and libraries with no luck. Could anyone help me, please?

[a1s2d3f4g5q1w2e3]

Is Trust Records your personal label, or is it the one with head quarters based in New Zeland? (I might then be able to help you).

[elgatosucio]

...(last)...another composers would not know how to write arpeggios on cello like the arpeggios I can see on this video, that s another clue to follow.

[elgatosucio]

....(continuation)...don t forget that last works of Liszt sounded like early Debussy, even dodecafonism. It's just my simple opinion.

[elgatosucio]

If you want to know a personal theory, Shnittke's string parts are very difficult and sometimes "not written for the anathomy of the hand" like many other composers, except Shostakovich. Shostakovich knew perfectly every instrument, specially the strings, any part of him written for strings are perfect for the anathomy of the hand, like Vivaldi, Mozart and Puccini, for ex. By watching the cello arpeggios, I would believe it's a piece written by Shostakovich. Sounds like it....

[wowbaggerfan]

Fascinating stuff. So many of his fingerprints, it sounds authentic, though I agree it's not as taut and focused as his numbered quartets.

Oh, and gotta love those slippers, Vln2 :)

[monya77]

dachtest du, dass ich nicht dich verstehen könnte, du blöde Affe?

[monya77]

Me too, but it has nothing to do here...even if Shostakovich is one of apo's inspirators

[elleno190]

weird how the theme from Shostakovich's 8th quartet show up at times. like at 3:24 and especially the first violin thing at 2:02.

but it definitely sounds like Shosti was either just experimenting with different ideas or that someone else finished it or something, it doesn't seem to run as smoothly as his other pieces.

[Uhaulfrag]

Unfortunately, they were disbanded, due to the KGB. The KGB didn't want any more of shostakovich's "Propaganda" about Russia and Stalin.

[xyeungyeungx]

How do you know this? i tried to find them in other places on the internet, but cant find any info on them. Do you mean that their quartet was destroyed?

[Uhaulfrag]

Supposly, if i'm not mistaken, they are from Russia. They founded this string quartet just after a couple of months of Shostakovich's death, to bad it was destroyed.