DCCLXXI. SHOSTAKOVICH, Dmitri: String Quartet #9 in E-Flat Major, Op. 117

DCCLXXI. SHOSTAKOVICH, Dmitri (1906-1975)

String Quartet #9 in E-Flat Major, Op. 117 (1964)
1. Moderato con moto
2. Adagio
3. Allegretto
4. Adagio
5. Allegro
Jerusalem Quartet
(26:55)

All movements are attacca.

1. Moderato con moto

A softly flowing E-Flat Major is weirded-out by the end of the first violin's melodic line -- from a Major Seventh to the Tritone!

They switch positions with everything raised a Fifth.

2. Adagio

F-Sharp Minor. Intense anguish:

A preview of the next movement:

3. Allegretto

A typical skipping Shostakovich bounce with a hint of the William Tell motif:

4. Adagio

An elegiac sorrowful movement:

5. Allegro

Almost as long as the previous four movements combined, Shostakovich pulls out all the stops. First the half-step motif from the previous movement:

Then a two-against-three section:

and a fantastic fugue!

No morendo ending this time, Shostakovich feeling free to truly rejoice: