Schedule
HostsWays to Give
HomePlaylistSchedule
HostsEventsOn DemandOur StoryOur TeamWays to Give Become a Sponsor
How to ListenVisit Help CenterContact Us

Find Us on Social Media:

Logo image

Find Us on Social Media:

Download Our Mobile App:

google play icon

About

HomePlaylistSchedule
HostsOn DemandOur StoryOur Team

Community

EventsWays to Give Become a SponsorPressDiversity StatementCareersAnnual EEO ReportDigital Accessibility

Help

Visit Help CenterContact UsHow to Listen

©2025 Classical California

Sweepstakes RulesFCC ComplianceLocal Public FilesCPB ComplianceAnnual EEO ReportPrivacy PolicyCode of Integrity

articles / Pop Culture

Two Seasons Exploring Shostakovich Quartets

Pop CultureThe State of the Arts

alexander-sq-6x9

The Alexander String Quartet and music historian Robert Greenberg begin a two-season long exploration of the complete string quartets of Dmitri Shostakovich tomorrow morning at the Herbst Theatre. San Francisco Performances presents the series, which begins at 10 tomorrow, with the first and second quartets that Shostakovich wrote. Violist Paul Yarborough says for more than 20 years they’ve teamed with Greenberg to present concerts with context.

Two Seasons Exploring Shostakovich Quartets
00:00

There’s more information about the series at the San Francisco Performances website.

In the first season of performances (there are also concerts on Saturday mornings in early February, March, and May) they’ll play the first two quartets, and proceed through all 15 in chronological order. “We’re going to be doing all of the Shostakovich quartets, plus three other chamber works, including a magnificent viola sonata,” Greenberg says. “This will be spread over two seasons, nine concerts. This wonderful quartet lets me talk, they play musical examples that support the talk, and then they perform the actual piece that we’ve been discussing.” The ensemble and Greenberg have collaborated on this type of performance for more than 20 years. Violist Yarborough says: “I don’t think I’ve ever felt like an audience was more ready, more primed to appreciate the music we play than after they’ve heard his talk. As a performer who really likes to see the music hit home with an audience, this is a winner.” Part of the challenge is to convey the kinds of political pressures that Shostakovich faced when he was composing. “We can’t even come close to comprehending what the Soviet Union was like, particularly under Stalin,” Greenberg says. “And so my job really is to create that context. And to understand Shostakovich not in our terms, but in his terms, and in his day.” The Alexander String Quartet has recorded the complete Shostakovich quartets, and performed them many times. “I’ve gotten to know them all as old friends, in a way,” Paul Yarborough explains. “They each have a feel about them, and yet there’s so much in common, there’s so much continuity in Shostakovich’s string quartets. There are elements that seem to keep coming back.”

Pop CultureThe State of the Arts
Written by:
Jeffrey Freymann
Jeffrey Freymann
Published on 03.27.2017
Loading...

MORE LIKE THIS

Exploring Shostakovich’s Quartets

Exploring Shostakovich’s Quartets

The Alexander String Quartet and Robert Greenberg explore Dmitri Shostakovich's complete string quartets over two seasons at the Mondavi Center, providing context to the music.

03/06/2020
Piano for Two in Three Venues

Piano for Two in Three Venues

Chamber Music San Francisco presents a classical recital by piano duo Greg Anderson & Elizabeth Joy Roe, featuring works from Rachmaninoff, Ravel, Mozart, Bizet, and Piazzolla.

05/31/2018
An ‘Un-Edited’ Concerto for Two Pianos

An ‘Un-Edited’ Concerto for Two Pianos

Semyon Bychkov conducts a San Francisco Symphony program featuring a Bruch Concerto, played by the Labèque Sisters, and Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 2.

05/30/2018
Two Conductors for One Massive Symphony

Two Conductors for One Massive Symphony

The San Francisco Symphony, led by Michael Tilson Thomas and Christian Reif, will perform Charles Ives' Fourth Symphony. The performance will later be released on the SFS Media label.

05/11/2018
Saturday Morning Shostakovich for Strings

Saturday Morning Shostakovich for Strings

The Alexander String Quartet and Robert Greenberg explore Shostakovich's quartets in a series of concerts in Berkeley and San Francisco, providing context to the music.

05/11/2018
Exploring Schumann… and Film Acting

Exploring Schumann… and Film Acting

Renowned cellist Lynn Harrell is set to perform Schumann's concerto and Haydn's Sinfonia Concertante with Symphony Silicon Valley. He also stars in a short film, Cello.

05/11/2018