String Quartet No. 3 (Shostakovich)

Dmitri Shostakovich's String Quartet No. 3 in F major, op. 73, was composed in 1946 after his Symphony No. 9 was censured by Soviet authorities. It was premiered in Moscow by the Beethoven Quartet, to whom it is dedicated, in December 1946.

Structure

The quartet has five movements:

Playing time is approximately 33 minutes.

For the premiere, most likely so that he would not be accused of "formalism" or "elitism," Shostakovich allegedly renamed the movements in the manner of a war story:

Blithe ignorance of the future cataclysm
Rumblings of unrest and anticipation
Forces of war unleashed
In memory of the dead
The eternal question: Why? And for what?

A chamber symphony arrangement (Op. 73a) was made of this quartet by Rudolph Barshai. It calls for flute, oboe, English horn, clarinet, bassoon, harp, and strings. It adds winds for tonal colour in the style of Shostakovich's symphonies.

The first movement is constructed using sonata allegro form. The first theme appears in the first violin and is often heard interacting with the cello. The second theme is stated in the first violin and then imitated and transformed by the other three instruments. The development is rather long and pulls its material mainly from the first theme. Finally the coda arrives with an acceleration and crescendo, borrowing, once again, the main theme as its material.

External links

Griffiths, Paul (2012). "Quartet No. 3 in F major for Strings, Op. 73". The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center.
Harris, Stephen (2014). "Shostakovich: the string quartets, Quartet No. 3". Shostakovich: the string quartets.
Jones, Evan Allan, ed. (2009). Intimate Voices: The Twentieth Century String Quartet, Vol. 2 Shostakovich to the Avant-Garde. University Rochester Press. ISBN 1-58046-322-3.
Kim, Rang Hee (2010). Dmitri Shostakovich's String Quartet No. 3 in F Major, Op.73: A Performer's Analysis (D.Mus). Florida State University.
Matthew-Walker, Robert (1999). Shostakovich: String Quartets Nos 2 & 3 (PDF) (CD). Hyperion Records. CDA67153.
Wilson, Elizabeth (2012). The Soviet Experience: Volume II (PDF) (CD). Cedille Records. CDR 90000 130.

Operas and operetta

The New Babylon
Alone
Golden Mountains
Counterplan
The Tale of the Priest and of His Workman Balda
The Youth of Maxim
Girl Friends
The Return of Maxim
The Vyborg Side
Friends
The Great Citizen
Zoya
Simple People
The Young Guard
Pirogov
Michurin
Meeting on the Elbe
The Fall of Berlin
Belinsky
The Unforgettable Year 1919
The Gadfly
Five Days, Five Nights
Sofiya Perovskaya
Hamlet
King Lear

Vocal music

Chamber music

String quartets	No. 1 in C major No. 2 in A major No. 3 in F major No. 4 in D major No. 5 in B♭ major No. 6 in G major No. 7 in F♯ minor No. 8 in C minor No. 9 in E♭ major No. 10 in A♭ major No. 11 in F minor No. 12 in D♭ major No. 13 in B♭ minor No. 14 in F♯ major No. 15 in E♭ minor

Other	Cello Sonata in D minor Piano Quintet in G minor Piano Trio No. 1 in C minor Piano Trio No. 2 in E minor Quartet Movement in E♭ major (c. 1960s) Viola Sonata Violin Sonata

Piano music

Named for Shostakovich

Portal:Classical music

String quartets by Dmitri Shostakovich

Two Pieces for String Quartet (1931) No. 1 in C major No. 2 in A major No. 3 in F major No. 4 in D major No. 5 in B-flat major No. 6 in G major No. 7 in F-sharp minor No. 8 in C minor Quartet Movement in E-flat major (c. 1960s) No. 9 in E-flat major No. 10 in A-flat major No. 11 in F minor No. 12 in D-flat major No. 13 in B-flat minor No. 14 in F-sharp major No. 15 in E-flat minor

List of compositions by Dmitri Shostakovich

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