Shostakovich: Last Three String Quartets: 50th Anniversary Recording

The Fitzwilliam String Quartet celebrates a remarkable milestone with this special fiftieth anniversary recording of Shostakovichs last three string quartets. Fittingly, this landmark recording will look back to the music which first propelled the Fitzwilliam to international prominence. Shostakovich entrusted the Fitzwilliam with the western premieres of his last three quartets (Nos. 13, 14, 15), and before long they had become the first ever group to perform and record all fifteen, winning many international awards along the way. The highly innovative String Quartet No.13 is notable for its unique single-movement form and the virtuosic viola writing, which shines a spotlight on founding member Alan George. No.14, despite its twelve-tone structure, is perhaps the most accessible of Shostakovichs late quartets with a wealth of identifiable melodies. The six movements of No.15 are profoundly melancholic and intimate, with the composers obsession with death a clear influence. The Fitzwilliams pre-eminence in the interpretation of these works has persisted: Benjamin Britten reported after Shostakovichs death in 1975 that the composer had told him the Fitzwilliam were his preferred performers of my quartets.