Fitzwilliam quartet shostakovich biography
- The Fitzwilliam is now one of the longest established string quartets in the world.
- They became well known through their close personal association with Dmitri Shostakovich, who befriended them following a visit to York to hear them play.
- 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.
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Fitzwilliam String Quartet: 50 years since Shostakovich’s death
Date: Saturday 1 March 2025, 7.30pm
Location: Clare Hall Dining Hall, University of Cambridge
Booking: via Eventbrite
The FSQ’s historical connection with Shostakovich is featured in this programme to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the composer’s death.
The Fitzwilliam String Quartet’s historical connection with Shostakovich is featured in this programme to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the composer’s death. They are joined by Clare Hall’s Musician-in-Residence, Patrick Hemmerlé. The selected pieces display the breadth of Shostakovich’s style from early to late. His first quartet is a musical picture of his childhood, the Polka an ironic example of his youthful style, and the great piano quintet, from the war years, shows neo baroque elements and his reverence for Bach.
Programme
Shostakovich String Quartet No. 1 in C major, Op.49
Two pieces for string quartet: Elegie and Polka
Shostakovich No. 11 in F minor, Op 122
Shostak Only one of the players on this official 50th-anniversary recording was part of the Fitzwilliam Quartet that recorded the group’s historic Shostakovich cycle in 1977. That’d be the viola player, Alan George, and it’s his presence, his experience and his recollections of the group’s extraordinary relationship with the composer (thoroughly documented in the booklet) that makes this more than simply a powerful and superbly played new Shostakovich recording. A comparison with those classic recordings is unavoidable. I started with the Fifteenth Quartet, and whereas in 1977 the Fitzwilliams positively throbbed, what we get in 2019 is unmistakably a 21st-century quartet sound – unafraid to dial down the vibrato but nonetheless producing a singing, chant-like line. George mentions how, in the 1970s, the idea of a non-Russian quartet playing Shostakovich was almost heresy. The original Fitzwilliams carefully studied the style of such leading Soviet-era outfits as the Beethovens and Borodins. But The FSQ need little introduction having already performed at two sell-out concerts at Victoria Hall. Who better to help us honour the 50th anniversary of Shostakovich’s death than the ensemble that introduced his quartets to the West? The first half of the concert will feature two Shostakovich quartets, early and late period, plus his Elegie and Polka. After the interval they will play one of Mozart’s most effortlessly fluid early chamber works. Fees: Members £20 / Non-Members £24. Doors: 7pm for 7.30pm start The concert will finish at approximately 9:30pm after which complimentary wine and other drinks will be served in the Members’ Room If you have any specific access requirements, please contact the office on 020 8340 3343•
SHOSTAKOVICH Last Three String Quartets (Fitzwilliam Quartet)
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Fitzwilliam String Quartet
On the door: Everyone £24
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