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Shostakovich    String Quartet No. 10 in A flat major, Op. 118

Shostakovich    String Quartet No. 15 in E flat minor, Op. 144

Leamington Music is delighted to bring to the Royal Pump Rooms a rare and exhilarating opportunity to hear all of Shostakovich’s incredible 15 string quartets across six concerts in one weekend.

(Introductory note to Quartets 10 & 15 by Paul Cassidy)

Perhaps it’s because of where it lies in the cycle, between Nina, Dmitri and Irina and the four members of the Beethoven Quartet, but No.10 always strikes me as a little oasis. Whilst its outer movements remain eerily subdued, drained of hope and with little to prove, they do nonetheless serve to highlight two of the most striking movements in the whole set. The furioso second, with its 347 bars of unrelenting venom, is arguably the most bitter of his tirades. This is followed by a particularly beautiful passacaglia whose form is a bit of a Shostakovich trademark. Rather in the way that so many of Beethoven’s great slow movements are in fact sets of variations, so the passacaglia form allows Dmitri to lay out a bass line and repeat it as often as necessary, adding more and more beauty around it. Like Bach before them, these two giants were formidable improvisers.

And so we come to No.15. and frankly, what to say? This is the most intimate and profound commentary on the eternal question of life and death – what’s it all about? The music is stripped back to its bare bones, perpetually alone. Only for one brief moment of its heavenly length do the four players collectively exist. The work is full of emotion, beauty, love, tragedy, humour – it’s all there, but expressed existentially by a mind which appears to be straddling that nebulous line between reality and the unknown. It was Shostakovich’s genius which allowed him to capture these images for us mere mortals to reflect upon.

The Brodsky Quartet have performed over 3,000 concerts on the major stages of the world and released more than 60 recordings. The Quartet are among the most beloved interpreters of Dmitri Shostakovich’s music, a creative relationship that goes back to 1972, the year they formed.

The artists themselves put it best, saying: “We invite you to join us in celebrating the most magical and intimate journey in all music. Come and revel in the personal diaries of one of the world’s greatest ever musicians. Initially inspired by life – the birth of his son – and finishing with our collective demise, these masterpieces address family, friends, enemies and lovers; with every conceivable emotion explored. We promise you a rollercoaster. Take the ride!”

Immerse yourself or select as you wish – tickets are available per concert, per day, or for the whole weekend experience.

Tickets: £22 centre and £12 sides | £1 students and children

Full Weekend Saver:   £120 (centre) | £70 (sides)
Saturday Saver:   £72 (centre) | £46 (sides)
Sunday Saver:   £60 (centre) | £32 (sides)

Shostakovich    String Quartet No. 13 in B flat minor, Op. 138

Shostakovich    String Quartet No. 14 in F sharp major, Op. 142

Leamington Music is delighted to bring to the Royal Pump Rooms a rare and exhilarating opportunity to hear all of Shostakovich’s incredible 15 string quartets across six concerts in one weekend.

(Introductory note to Quartets 13-14 by Paul Cassidy)

The untimely death of Vasili Shirinsky, the 2nd violin of the Beethoven Quartet, led Shostakovich to write four quartets dedicated to the four members of that group who had worked with him so closely.

The infamously brooding and personal timbre of the viola leads our composer to a particularly dark and lonely place in No.13. Though it often shows signs of a loving character, this is a troubled soul who cannot escape the walls of his tortured mind. Even the quirky central ‘jazz’ section is confused and goes by in a bit of a blur. This poor unfortunate being inevitably ends up alone, screaming with pent up frustration in a perfect musical depiction of that celebrated Munch painting.

In No.14, Shostakovich seems to do the exact opposite by presenting the cello with a series of roles not necessarily typical of that instrument. The first and last movements are frivolous and enigmatic, our protagonist inhabiting a daydream world. It is in the middle movement that real life comes to call, but even here, in the glorious love duet with the first violin, the cello most unusually takes the upper line, creating a particularly heart-breaking effect. Equally, even here, the music is heavily tinged with nostalgia.

The Brodsky Quartet have performed over 3,000 concerts on the major stages of the world and released more than 60 recordings. The Quartet are among the most beloved interpreters of Dmitri Shostakovich’s music, a creative relationship that goes back to 1972, the year they formed.

The artists themselves put it best, saying: “We invite you to join us in celebrating the most magical and intimate journey in all music. Come and revel in the personal diaries of one of the world’s greatest ever musicians. Initially inspired by life – the birth of his son – and finishing with our collective demise, these masterpieces address family, friends, enemies and lovers; with every conceivable emotion explored. We promise you a rollercoaster. Take the ride!”

Immerse yourself or select as you wish – tickets are available per concert, per day, or for the whole weekend experience.

Tickets: £22 centre and £12 sides | £1 students and children

Full Weekend Saver:   £120 (centre) | £70 (sides)
Saturday Saver:   £72 (centre) | £46 (sides)
Sunday Saver:   £60 (centre) | £32 (sides)

Shostakovich     String Quartet No. 11 in F minor, Op. 122

Shostakovich      String Quartet No. 12 in D flat major, Op. 133

Leamington Music is delighted to bring to the Royal Pump Rooms a rare and exhilarating opportunity to hear all of Shostakovich’s incredible 15 string quartets across six concerts in one weekend.

(Introductory note to Quartets 11-12 by Paul Cassidy)

The untimely death of Vasili Shirinsky, the 2nd violin of the Beethoven Quartet, led Shostakovich to write four quartets dedicated to the four members of that group who had worked with him so closely.

No.11, written in memory of Vasili is a short, almost reverential tribute in which the characteristics of this gentleman are plain to see: they are never exaggerated, always understated and somehow loving.
Quartet No.12, written for the 1st violin Dmitri Tsiganov, is arguably the most formidable of the fifteen. The gently undulating first movement acts like a prelude to the unleashing of seemingly infinite power in the titanic second movement. Reflective adagios try to take over the scene but the irresistible energy of the main movement always wins out as the music gallops towards an ultimately optimistic ending.

The Brodsky Quartet have performed over 3,000 concerts on the major stages of the world and released more than 60 recordings. The Quartet are among the most beloved interpreters of Dmitri Shostakovich’s music, a creative relationship that goes back to 1972, the year they formed.

The artists themselves put it best, saying: “We invite you to join us in celebrating the most magical and intimate journey in all music. Come and revel in the personal diaries of one of the world’s greatest ever musicians. Initially inspired by life – the birth of his son – and finishing with our collective demise, these masterpieces address family, friends, enemies and lovers; with every conceivable emotion explored. We promise you a rollercoaster. Take the ride!”

Immerse yourself or select as you wish – tickets are available per concert, per day, or for the whole weekend experience.

Tickets: £22 centre and £12 sides | £1 students and children

Full Weekend Saver:   £120 (centre) | £70 (sides)
Saturday Saver:   £72 (centre) | £46 (sides)
Sunday Saver:   £60 (centre) | £32 (sides)

Shostakovich     String Quartet No. 7 in F sharp minor, Op. 108

Shostakovich     String Quartet No. 8 in C minor, Op. 110

Shostakovich     String Quartet No. 9 in E flat major, Op. 117

Leamington Music is delighted to bring to the Royal Pump Rooms a rare and exhilarating opportunity to hear all of Shostakovich’s incredible 15 string quartets across six concerts in one weekend.

(Introductory note to Quartets 7-9 by Paul Cassidy)

And so we arrive at the heart of the Cycle, a staging post, if you like, on the most personal journey in all of music. No.7, written in memory of his first wife Nina, is the shortest of the set. Almost Webernesque in its succinctness, it nevertheless carries poignancy, its four short movements expressing sadness, humour and anger in equal measure.

No.8, written as his own epitaph, is surely the most intimate and self-revealing work ever composed by anyone. Using his very own four note musical motif, he pours out his heart and soul onto the page, masterfully mapping out his life’s journey.

No.9 is a magnificent five movement declaration of love for his new wife, Irina. Bursting with melody, its boundless energy is intoxicating, reaching fever-pitch in the incomparable final bars which never fail to have me jumping up and down whilst trying to execute them.

The Brodsky Quartet have performed over 3,000 concerts on the major stages of the world and released more than 60 recordings. The Quartet are among the most beloved interpreters of Dmitri Shostakovich’s music, a creative relationship that goes back to 1972, the year they formed.

The artists themselves put it best, saying: “We invite you to join us in celebrating the most magical and intimate journey in all music. Come and revel in the personal diaries of one of the world’s greatest ever musicians. Initially inspired by life – the birth of his son – and finishing with our collective demise, these masterpieces address family, friends, enemies and lovers; with every conceivable emotion explored. We promise you a rollercoaster. Take the ride!”

Immerse yourself or select as you wish – tickets are available per concert, per day, or for the whole weekend experience.

Tickets: £27 centre and £17 sides | £1 students and children

Full Weekend Saver:   £120 (centre) | £70 (sides)
Saturday Saver:   £72 (centre) | £46 (sides)
Sunday Saver:   £60 (centre) | £32 (sides)