Jerusalem Quartet: Shostakovich IV

The fourth part of the cycle featuring the Jerusalem Quartet begins, in the String Quartet No. 3, with a dance parody typical of Shostakovich. Here the composer seems to laugh at all the constraints imposed on his life under the Soviet regime. A singlemovement meditation, the Thirteenth Quartet turns inward and reveals a despairing landscape of the soul. Dedicated to a violist friend, it ends with one of the most difficult viola solos in the highest register, whose final note rises from the deepest resignation to a final cry. The penultimate Quartet No. 14 with its harsh tonal language serves as the conclusion.