ショスタコーヴィチ: 弦楽四重奏曲全集 Vol.2

ますます磨きのかかった美しさと結晶感
カザルス弦楽四重奏団によるショスタコーヴィチ・シリーズ第2弾!

1930年代半ばにソビエト政権から公的な攻撃を受けたショスタコーヴィチ。彼の内面がもっとも色濃く反映され、私的な告白のための完璧な媒体となったのが弦楽四重奏曲でした。1938年以降、最晩年にいたるまでこのジャンルに取り組み、その数は15曲を数えます。第1弾(1～5番収録 / HMM-902731(2CD))につづき登場の第2弾は、第6番から第12番を収録。1956年から1968年の間、スターリンの死後、比較的自由を取り戻し、ショスタコーヴィチが革新の手を休めることなく、常に新しい幾何学とアイディアをその構造に取り入れていた12年の間に書かれました。これらの作品は、20世紀のカルテット史における特に重要なものであるといえます。カザルス弦楽四重奏団は、ますます磨きのかかったみずみずしい美しさをたたえた音色で、美しい旋律はさらに美しく、辛口な部分はドライに、作品の魅力を深い洞察でとらえた演奏で聴かせます。
HARMONIA MUNDI

The years around 2025 have brought a profusion of Shostakovich recordings, partly because it marks the 50th anniversary of the composers death, but also because so many people in so many countries are experiencing emotional life under repressive governments. Those of the Cuarteto Casals are well worth hearing, because they diverge from the intense Russian manner that has also influenced players in other countries. The abstract paintings on the Cuarteto Casals covers give a hint as to the contents, which are clean and restrained. Give a listen to the slow movements, where the players let the Lento gloom speak for itself rather than leaning into it. There are certainly other ways to play these quartets, but the Cuarteto Casals style actually fits this period of Shostakovichs life well; the death of Stalin and the increased freedoms of the Khrushchev era seem to have energized the composer in the direction of formal experimentation. Consider the unusual seven-movement shape of the String Quartet No. 11 in F minor, Op. 122, which contains a wordless Recitative that seems to beg the listener to guess what is being said. The Cuarteto Casals gets this delightful moment nicely, and from the opening String Quartet No. 6 in G major, Op. 101, which is as close as Shostakovich ever got in a serious work to being lighthearted, to the final String Quartet No. 12 in D flat major, Op. 133, which shows the composer flirting with 12-tone music, there are many enjoyable touches. Even the grim String Quartet No. 8 in C minor, Op. 110, written by Shostakovich in commemoration of the destruction of Dresden but also carrying more local overtones, is given a slightly dispassionate face. One awaits the final volume of the Cuarteto Casals series, where the quartets of Shostakovichs last years would seem to demand a certain level of gloom. This album made classical best-seller lists in the summer of 2025. ~ James Manheim