Program:

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

Composed in the 1960’s in a span of just 3 days while Shostakovich was visiting Dresden, a city in Germany that had been destroyed during World War II, String Quartet no. 8 remains one of the composer’s most famous works. Dedicated to “ the victims of fascism and war”, the quartet is in five movements played attacca (without a pause between the movements) and opens with Shostakovich’s signature four- note motif - DSCH, a theme we can hear throughout the quartet in different voices. 

with a pre-concert talk by

Tom Nelson

Tom Nelson is a retired musicologist with a doctorate degree from the University of Minnesota, and Masters from University of Wisconsin-Madison.  His area of specialty is the German Romantic period in the 19th century, with a dissertation titled The Fantasy of Absolute Music.  He is currently the program notes editor for the Itasca Symphony Orchestra.

TCCC Artists:

Evgeny Zvonnikov - violin
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Natalia Korenchuk - violin
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Pedro Oviedo - viola
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Magdalena Sas - cello
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After the performance we will gather for an informal discussion on the music performed and a small reception where original Russian snacks will be served!