String Quartet No. 13 (Shostakovich)

1970 string quartet by Dmitri Shostakovich

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Dmitri Shostakovich's String Quartet No. 13 in B-flat minor, Op. 138, was first conceived in 1969, and completed in 1970 as Shostakovich was undergoing treatment at the Russian Ilizarov Scientific Center for Restorative Traumatology and Orthopaedics in Kurgan.

The work consists of one movement:

Adagio — Doppio movimento — Tempo primo

Playing time is approximately 19 minutes.

The piece was dedicated to Vadim Borisovsky, violist of the Beethoven Quartet, and the viola is accordingly given a prominent role in the piece. The quartet opens with a twelve-tone theme played on the viola, and concludes with a high B♭ held first by the viola, then with the violins in unison until reaching a sforzando. The work also requires the players to tap on the bodies of their instruments with their bows at several points.^[1]

References

^ "Notes on Shostakovich's String Quartets, from Saint Paul Sunday". saintpaulsunday.publicradio.org. Retrieved 2021-09-13.

Matthew-Walker, Robert (2002). Shostakovich: String Quartets Nos 11, 13 & 15 (PDF) (CD). Hyperion Records. CDA67157. Retrieved 2019-09-27.
Wilson, Elizabeth (1994). Shostakovich: A Life Remembered. Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-04465-1.

External links

"Shostakovich: the string quartets (String Quartet No. 13)". Shostakovich: the string quartets.
Griffiths, Paul (2012). "Quartet No. 13 in B-flat minor for Strings, Op. 138". Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Centre. Archived from the original on 2016-06-21.

Dmitri Shostakovich

List of compositions

Operas and operettas

The Nose
Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District/Katerina Izmailova
The Big Lightning (unfinished)
Orango (unfinished)
The Twelve Chairs (unfinished)
Katyusha Maslova (unfinished)
The Gamblers (unfinished)
Moscow, Cheryomushki

Ballets

The Golden Age
The Bolt
The Limpid Stream

Symphonies

No. 1 in F minor
No. 2 in B major (To October)
No. 3 in E♭ major (The First of May)
No. 4 in C minor
No. 5 in D minor
No. 6 in B minor
No. 7 in C major (Leningrad)
- Leningrad première
- American premieres
No. 8 in C minor
No. 9 in E♭ major
No. 10 in E minor
No. 11 in G minor (The Year 1905)
No. 12 in D minor (The Year 1917)
No. 13 in B♭ minor (Babi Yar)
No. 14 in G minor
No. 15 in A major

Concertos

Piano	No. 1 in C minor No. 2 in F major
Violin	No. 1 in A minor No. 2 in C♯ minor
Cello	No. 1 in E♭ major No. 2 in G major

Orchestral works

Tahiti Trot
Suite from The Golden Age
Suite from The Bolt
Suite from The Limpid Stream
Five Fragments
Scherzo (1922)
Suite for Jazz Orchestra No. 1
Suite for Jazz Orchestra No. 2 (orch. McBurney)
Suite for Variety Orchestra No. 1 (arr. Atovmyan)
Festive Overture
Suite from Encounter at the Elbe
Suite from The Gadfly (arr. Atovmyan)
Novorossiisk Chimes, the Flame of Eternal Glory
October
"Intervision"

Concert/brass band

"March of the Soviet Militia"

Film music

The New Babylon
Alone
Golden Mountains
Counterplan
The Tale of the Priest and of His Workman Balda
The Youth of Maxim
Girl Friends
The Return of Maxim
The Vyborg Side
Friends
The Great Citizen
Zoya
Simple People
The Young Guard
Pirogov
Michurin
Meeting on the Elbe
The Fall of Berlin
Belinsky
The Unforgettable Year 1919
The Gadfly
Five Days, Five Nights
Sofiya Perovskaya
Hamlet
King Lear
Gogoliad (unfinished)

Vocal music

Chamber music

String quartets	No. 1 in C major No. 2 in A major No. 3 in F major No. 4 in D major No. 5 in B♭ major No. 6 in G major No. 7 in F♯ minor No. 8 in C minor No. 9 in E♭ major No. 10 in A♭ major No. 11 in F minor No. 12 in D♭ major No. 13 in B♭ minor No. 14 in F♯ major No. 15 in E♭ minor No. 16 in B major (unrealized)
Other	Cello Sonata in D minor Piano Quintet in G minor Piano Trio No. 1 in C minor Piano Trio No. 2 in E minor Quartet Movement in E♭ major (c. 1960s) Violin Sonata Viola Sonata