Throughout his life, Shostakovich wrote a total of 15 works for string quartets. He also wrote a number of works for other instrument chamber groups, including song cycles, sonatas, and more. Tonight’s program pairs Shostakovich’s Quartet no. 13 in B minor with a rarely heard song cycle.
From Jewish Folk Poetry takes inspiration from a collection of Jewish folk songs published in 1947 and compiled by Dobrushin and Yuditsky. Shostakovich began work on this piece after his denunciation in the Zhdanov decree limited performances of his music. The first eight songs were completed in August 1948, with an additional 3 songs created later that year to allow the song cycle to pass censor tests.
