The piece was dedicated to Vadim Borisovsky, violist of the Beethoven Quartet, and the viola is accordingly given a prominent role in the piece. The quartet opens with a twelve-tone row played on the viola, and concludes with a long viola solo in the high register. The work also requires the players to tap on the bodies of their instruments with their bows at several points; such techniques had become almost commonplace in the West by this time, but were not typically used in Soviet music of this period.[citation needed]
Date of composition | 1970 (1969-1970) |
Dedicated to | Dedicated to Vadim Borisovsky, violist of the Beethoven Quartet |
Type | String Quartet |
Tonality | B-flat Minor |
Catalogue | Op. 138 |
Approx. duration | 19 minutes |
Instruments | String Quartet |
Autotranslations beta |
Dmitri Chostakovitch: Quatuor à cordes n°13 en si bémol mineur, Op. 138 Dmitrij Šostakovič: Quartetto d'archi n. 13 in si bemolle minore, Op. 138 Dmitri Dmitrijewitsch Schostakowitsch: Streichquartett Nr. 13 b-moll, Op. 138 |