With Specific Reference to the String Quartet, How Far Did Shostakovich Build on the Musical Traditions Established by Preceding Generations of Composers?

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With specific reference to the string quartet, how far did Shostakovich build on the musical traditions established by preceding generations of composers? The string quartet is well known in the musical world as being an iconic musical style of the classical period (18th-19th centuries). It comprises of two violins, a viola and a cello. It was made popular by rich aristocrats who would hire string quartets to play for private parties, where an orchestra would be too large and soloist too small. It is these aristocrats that introduced Beethoven’s work in Russia, by hiring him for their functions. Many Russian composers are influenced by Beethoven in their chamber music. In a string quartet the first violinist traditionally takes on the melody, with the second violinist and the viola adding the texture and counter-rhythms, and the cello adding the bass line. A majority of compositions at this time would be in Sonata form, as this was the most popular form of the classical era. There was also a specific layout for symphonies, which, according to classical standards, should have four movements, with the last being a spectacular show of the skills of the composer and the performers, producing a breath-taking grand finale. Dmitri Shostakovich was born in St Petersburg on the 25 September 1906, and began attending what was then the Petrograd conservatory at the age of 13 to study piano and composition(Richards, 2008, p203). He later went on to become one of the most important composers of the 20th century. In his time at the Conservatory (now the St Petersburg Conservatory) he will have been well schooled in the composition techniques of the classical era, and it is very possible it is here that he found his ‘idol’ in Beethoven. In his String Quartets, Shostakovich uses all the traditional instrumentation. No matter how out dated the grouping, it is undeniable that

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