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Quatuor Molinari marks the recent 50th anniversary of Shostakovich’s death with a series of Montreal concerts featuring his complete string quartets. “This is one of the most significant cycles in the repertoire, on par with those of Beethoven and Bartók,” says the group’s artistic director, Olga Ranzenhofer. For the occasion, the ensemble draws on its experience of presenting similar large-scale projects as well as its many previous concerts dedicated to Shostakovich.
The quartets possess incredible richness: dramatic outbursts, waltzes, melodies of great beauty and a wide sonic palette. They will be performed in chronological order, allowing the audience to follow the evolution of the Russian composer’s musical language.
Shostakovich’s early string quartets allowed him to develop a more personal style than in his symphonies, which were closely monitored by the Soviet regime. The result is music that is deeply intimate and reflective of a troubled period in the composer’s life. The subsequent quartets are more varied: there is a sense of lightness that accompanies the darker passages. The later ones, more introspective, allow us to better explore his tormented inner world, notably featuring solos that allow each instrumentalist to shine. “This cycle is filled with a dramatic force and emotional intensity unrivalled in the string-quartet repertoire,” adds Ranzenhofer. “Their performance demands great physical stamina as well as unwavering concentration.”
A formidable challenge for Quatuor Molinari, but they are accustomed to tackling such musical marathons for which they have reaped rewards in return, such as their recent successes at the 29th and 30th annual Opus Awards.
Quatuor Molinari presents the complete set of Dmitri Shostakovich’s 15 string quartets on May 28, 29 and 30 at Conservatoire de musique de Montréal. www.quatuormolinari.qc.ca
Translation: Gianmarco Segato
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