String Quartet No. 4 in D Major, Op. 83 was composed in 1949 and premiered in Moscow in 1953, dedicated to the artist Pyotr Vilyams. Paul Erion, Tubist of the Philadelphia Opera has scored this major work of about 25 minutes in length for Brass Quintet. The four movements have a variety of moods much in keeping with much of his music: passion, irony, loneliness, seriousness and even some Jewish Klezmir music.
This work is for virtuoso performers, scored for Trumpets in C, Horn, Trombone and Tuba with score (spiral bound) and parts.
Cherry Classics has licensed this arrangement from the Shostakovich family and G. Schirmer and is proud to make it available.
Mr. Erion has also arranged three other Shostakovich Quartets which will be available soon in our catalog.
The performance sample is from the 4th movement and beautifully played by the Mir Quintet.
Free pdf Sample
Shostakovich achieved fame in the Soviet Union under the patronage of Leon Trotsky's chief of staff Mikhail Tukhachevsky, but later had a complex and difficult relationship with the Stalinist bureaucracy. His music was officially denounced twice, in 1936 and 1948, and was periodically banned. Yet he also received accolades and state awards and served in the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR. Despite the official controversy, his works were popular and well received.
After a period influenced by Prokofiev and Stravinsky, Shostakovich developed a hybrid style, as exemplified by his opera Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District (1934). This single work juxtaposed a wide variety of trends, including the neo-classical style (showing the influence of Stravinsky) and post-Romanticism (after Mahler). Sharp contrasts and elements of the grotesque[1] characterize much of his music.
Shostakovich's orchestral works include 15 symphonies and six concerti. His music for chamber ensembles includes 15 string quartets, a piano quintet, two pieces for a string octet, and two piano trios. For the piano he composed two solo sonatas, an early set of preludes, and a later set of 24 preludes and fugues. Other works include two operas, and a substantial quantity of film music.
