Quatuor Debussy - Shostakovich: String Quartets (2015) [Official Digital Download 24/96]

The Debussy string quartet, French specialist in the Shostakovich quartet’s performance, is continuing the exploration of those master-pieces. With the “Opus” show, created with the Australian contemporary circus company CIRCA, the Debussy String Quartet musicians have taken another look on four of the quartet’s corpus of the Russian master:

Elegy, transcription for string quartet from an aria of his opera Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District, Quartet no.11 opus 122 in F minor (1966),
Quartet no.8 opus 110 in C minor (1960),
Quartet no.5 opus 92 in B at major (1952),

leading them to a very intimate knowledge of this music, going as far as performing for the show by heart and even blind-folded. This new recording is then the result of this long work and new appropriation of Shostakovich’s music, displaying, on a single one record, those four pieces of the “Opus” show.

he Debussy String Quartet has built a reputation graced with international acclaim through their many recordings and live performances. Since its creation in 1990, they have enlivened the chamber music world with their stylish and stimulating performances. Based in Lyon and honored as Winners of the Evian International String Quartet Competition, the quartet performs about 120 concerts a year all around the world (Europe, Asia, Australia, North America…). The quartet’s recording schedule has included the release of more than 25 CDs in 25 years with works ranging from French Music (recently, around Debussy and Caplet which enriches its collection composed of Bonnal, Ravel, Fauré, Witkowski or Lekeu) to Weber or Shostakovich with the complete string quartets recorded by Arion. The Debussy string quartet, French specialist in the Shostakovich quartet’s performance, is continuing the exploration of those master-­‐pieces. With the “Opus” show, created with the Australian contemporary circus company CIRCA, the Debussy String Quartet musicians have taken another look on four of the quartet’s corpus of the Russian master: ⁃ Elegy, transcription for string quartet from an aria of his opera Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District, ⁃ Quartet no.11 opus 122 in F minor (1966), ⁃ Quartet no.8 opus 110 in C minor (1960), ⁃ Quartet no.5 opus 92 in B flat major (1952), leading them to a very intimate knowledge of this music, going as far as performing for the show by heart and even blind-­‐folded. This new recording is then the result of this long work and new appropriation of Shostakovich’s music, displaying, on a single one record, those four pieces of the “Opus”show.

Tracklist:

Dmitri Schostakowitsch (1906–1975)

01. Elegie: Adagio
02. String Quartet No. 11 in F Minor, Op. 122: I. Introduction
03. String Quartet No. 11 in F Minor, Op. 122: II. Scherzo
04. String Quartet No. 11 in F Minor, Op. 122: III. Recitative
05. String Quartet No. 11 in F Minor, Op. 122: IV. Etude
06. String Quartet No. 11 in F Minor, Op. 122: V. Humoresque
07. String Quartet No. 11 in F Minor, Op. 122: VI. Elegie
08. String Quartet No. 11 in F Minor, Op. 122: VII. Final
09. String Quartet No. 8 in C Minor, Op. 110: I. Largo
10. String Quartet No. 8 in C Minor, Op. 110: II. Allegro molto
11. String Quartet No. 8 in C Minor, Op. 110: III. Allegretto
12. String Quartet No. 8 in C Minor, Op. 110: IV. Largo
13. String Quartet No. 8 in C Minor, Op. 110: V. Largo
14. String Quartet No. 5 in B-Flat Major, Op. 92: I. Allegro non troppo
15. String Quartet No. 5 in B-Flat Major, Op. 92: II. Andante
16. String Quartet No. 5 in B-Flat Major, Op. 92: III. Moderato-Allegretto-Andante