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

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

Shostakovich completed this work in only three days in July 1960 while living in Dresden. It was a difficult time for Shostakovich, as he had been forced to join the Communist party of the Soviet Union that year, and had already seen severe restrictions on his artistic output. There is evidence to suggest that the party demanded Shostakovich dedicate this work to ‘victims of fascism and the war’, however Shostakovich wanted the work to stand in remembrance of all victims of totalitarianism.

It was also at this time that Shostakovich spoke to friends that he was contemplating suicide, and that this work might serve as epitaph to both himself and all others struggling against the repression of their own government.

The work is comprised of five movements: I. Largo 00:00 II. Allegro molto 05:32 III. Allegretto 08:13 IV. Largo 12:34 V. Largo 18:31