El Cuarterto de Cuerdas del siglo XX.

Si existe una obra de cámara que representa el epítome de las cruentas contradicciones del siglo XX, extendibles perfectamente a nuestro tiempo, es el 8vo cuarteto de cuerdas de Dimitri Shostakovich. Del mismo modo, su ánimo lo emparenta inmediatamente con sus tres últimas sinfonías, las Sinfonías de Muerte... M-S

Revisión de Amazon.com

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com: Of Shostakovich's 15 string quartets, the eighth is probably best known and most frequently performed. It seems to express Shostakovich's innermost thoughts and feelings in the most personal though still carefully encoded way, giving the music a tremendous emotional impact. Shostakovich dedicated it to "the victims of fascism and war," clearly implying that he was including himself by building the work's main theme on the notes representing the letters of his initials (in the German spelling), and by quoting widely from his earlier works. The quartet encapsulates all the characteristics of his style: the biting irony, the desperate humor, the obsessive repetition, the bleakness, agony, and despair. The playing is beyond praise, technically flawless, tonally beautiful, varied and nuanced, texturally transparent and homogeneous. The players obviously have a strong affinity for the music; they skirt its emotional edge without succumbing to its excesses. Their expressiveness is deeply felt but always balanced and unsentimental. Recorded live, the playing has all the immediacy and excitement of a concert performance. --Edith Eisler