Brodsky Quartet celebrate their 50th anniversary with a complete cycle of Shostakovich’s String Quartets across one weekend, played in the intimacy of Hall One, interleaved with talks.

In this special anniversary weekend, the Brodsky Quartet present the full cycle of Shostakovich’s String Quartets. Each concert includes a performance of two quartets and a brief introduction from Elizabeth Wilson, who will share her extensive knowledge of Shostakovich’s life and music, with each of the 15 string quartets examined and illuminated through lively discussion with members of the Brodsky Quartet.

Paul Cassidy, viola, writes: ‘And so we arrive at the heart of the cycle, a staging post, if you like, on the most personal journey in all of music. Quartet No.7, written in memory of his first wife Nina, is the shortest of the set. Almost Webern-esque in its succinctness, it nevertheless carries poignancy, its four short movements carrying sadness, humour and anger in equal measure.

Quartet No.8, written as his own epitaph, is surely the most intimate and self-revealing work ever composed by anyone. Using his very own four note musical motif, he pours out his heart and soul onto the page, masterfully mapping out his life’s journey.

Quartet No.9 is a magnificent five movement declaration of love for his new wife, Irina. Bursting with melody, its boundless energy is intoxicating, reaching fever-pitch in the incomparable final bars which never fail to have me jumping up and down whilst trying to execute them.’

This concert will last approx. 2hrs including an interval

This concert forms part of Brodsky Quartet’s weekend celebration of all of Shostakovich’s String Quartets. See details for The Complete Shostakovich Quartets.

Elizabeth Wilson is the author of Shostakovich- A Life Remembered, considered by many to be the most vivid, informative and revealing biography of the composer. As a cellist, she studied in Moscow with Mstislav Rostropovich – during which time she encountered Shostakovich, and attended the premières of many of his later works.  As a performer she has worked with such major composers as Arvo Part, Alfred Schnittke and James MacMillan, and as a biographer has also written of Jacqueline Du Pre and her teacher Rostropovich. Her most recent book, Playing with Fire, is devoted to the life and times of the maverick Soviet pianist Maria Yudina, friend and champion of Shostakovich, Prokofiev, Hindemith and Stravinsky.