Shostakovich Dead or Alive
Late last night after attending “Les Liaison Dangereuses” put on by
Remy Bumppo at the Greenhouse Theater near Lincoln & Belden
(BTW, well worth seeing), I heard a performance on WFMT of the
Shostakovich string quartet #8, which is now my most revered
sting quartet.
It all started with Isabel Castellvi’s performance at the Hide Out a
few years ago in Ensemble Akasha, when she programmed a motet
by Machaut transcribed for strings and the Shostakovich 8th
quartet. It was so transforming for me to be sitting a bar with a
beer and hearing such amazing classical music.
I recognized the “very sad” theme from a Masterpiece Theater
production of “Traffic” about heroin trade from Afghanistan to
Germany to England (quite a powerful drama). It was very suitable
for a funeral.
But the saddest part is Dimitry claiming there would be no one
to write his elegy, so he’d do it himself. My God, he’s Dimitry
Fricken’ Shostakovich! One of the 20th century’s most creative
geniuses. There’s no way I hear a piece and not know it came
from Dimitry. He and Sergei Prokofiev must be dancing in the
daisies now.
–
Bruce
