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Cleveland Chamber Music Society

Jerusalem Quartet: Complete Shostakovich Quartet Cycle

Jerusalem Quartet: Complete Shostakovich Quartet Cycle

Buy Series Pass (Multi Concerts)

 

APRIL 21-30, 2025 – 7:30 PM

Cleveland Museum of Art Gartner Auditorium
11150 East Blvd, 
Cleveland, OH 44106

Pre-concert lectures at 6:30pm before each event with James Wilding

Access a comprehensive resource list here for books, articles, videos, and lectures about Shostakovich and the quartets. 

Attending from out of town? Discover more things to do in Cleveland! We've compiled a list of top activities and attractions.

Event Description

Experience the intensity and insight that the Jerusalem Quartet brings to its exploration of Shostakovich’s intimate fifteen string quartets. Written over a period of 35 years, the complete cycle unveils facets of the composer’s personality, autobiographical reflections, and musical concepts that conflicted with Soviet ideology. Unlike the public format of his symphonic music, the relatively private format of chamber music was largely ignored and uncensored by Soviet critics, so reveal much about their composer.

Each quartet displays unique characteristics, ranging from intense despair to subtle irony, providing a rich tapestry of musical expression captivating audiences and performers alike. Reflecting themes of oppression, resilience, and the quest for freedom, these pieces remain relevant today, fifty years after Shostakovich’s death. In a world marked by political tensions and social upheaval they resonate by offering historical insights on resistance and the power of artistic expression.

These quartets remind us of the enduring importance of speaking truth to power, a message still vital in contemporary society.

Programs

Preview the concerts here

Alexander Pavlovsky, violin
Sergei Bresler, violin
Ori Kam, viola
Kyril Zlotnikov, cello

WEEK 1
Monday, April 21, 2025 
String Quartet No. 1 in C major, Op. 49 
String Quartet No. 2 in A major, Op. 68
String Quartet No. 3 in F major, Op. 73

Tuesday, April 22, 2025 
String Quartet No. 4 in D major, Op. 83
String Quartet No. 5 in B-flat major, Op. 92 
String Quartet No. 6 in G major, Op. 101

Wednesday, April 23, 2025
String Quartet No. 7 in F-sharp minor, Op. 108 
String Quartet No. 8 in C minor, Op. 110
String Quartet No. 9 in E-flat major, Op. 117

Hamlet - FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
3:00 - 5:00 p.m.
Cleveland Museum of Art, Morley Lecture Hall

Join us for a rare screening of the 1964 Grigori Kozintsev adaptation of William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, featuring a searing score by Dmitri Shostakovich. Based on a translation by Russian literary great Boris Pasternak, this version of Hamlet is notable for its use of natural settings, its powerful visual representations of imprisonment, and its larger emphasis on the political strangulation of artistic truth. Laurence Olivier, who directed and starred in his own Hamlet in 1948, considered Kozintsev’s the greatest Hamlet on film.

Thursday, April 24, 2025, 10:30 - 12:30 
MASTERCLASS - FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
Cleveland Museum of Art, Morley Lecture Hall
The Jerusalem Quartet will coach student quartets from Oberlin, Bowling Green, Baldwin-Wallace, and Cleveland Institute of Music in Shostakovich quartets.

WEEK 2
Tuesday, April 29, 2025
String Quartet No. 10 in A-flat major, Op. 118
String Quartet No. 11 in F minor, Op. 122
String Quartet No. 12 in D-flat major, Op. 133

10:30 - 12:30 MASTERCLASS - FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
Cleveland Museum of Art, Morley Lecture Hall
The Jerusalem Quartet will coach student quartets from Oberlin, Bowling Green, Baldwin-Wallace, and Cleveland Institute of Music in Shostakovich quartets.

Wednesday, April 30, 2025
String Quartet No. 13 in B-flat major, Op. 138
String Quartet No. 14 in F sharp major, Op. 142
String Quartet No. 15 in E-flat major, Op. 144

 

 

CCMS' presentation of the complete Shostakovich Quartets is sponsored in part by the Jewish Federation’s Cleveland Israel Arts Connection and the residents of Cuyahoga County through a public grant from Cuyahoga Arts & Culture


About the Artists

Since the ensemble’s founding in 1993 and subsequent 1996 debut, the four Israeli musicians have embarked on a journey of growth and maturation. This experience has resulted in a wide repertoire and stunning depth of expression, which carries on the string quartet tradition in a unique manner. The ensemble has found its core in a warm, full, human sound and an egalitarian balance between high and low voices. This approach allows the Quartet to maintain a healthy relationship between individual expression and a transparent and respectful presentation of the composer’s work. It is also the drive and motivation for the continuing refinement of its interpretations of the classical repertoire as well as exploration of new epochs.

The Jerusalem Quartet is a regular and beloved guest on the world’s great concert stages. Recent appearances include a Beethoven quartet cycle at Wigmore Hall in London; a Bartok cycle at the Salzburg Festival; their annual String Quartet seminar in Crans Montana Switzerland, and a residency at the Jerusalem Academy of Music. 

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