Klavierquintett op. 57, I. Präludium. Lento
II. Fuge. Adagio
III. Scherzo. Allegretto
IV. Intermezzo. Lento
V. Finale. Allegretto

Klaviertrio Nr. 1, Andante - Allegro

Klaviertrio Nr. 2:
I. Andante - Moderato
II. Allegro con brio
III. Largo;IV. Allegretto

In the midst of the first coronavirus lockdown, when concert life came to a standstill and the prospects for many musicians were uncertain, a world-class line-up came together with violinist Julia Fischer, violist Nils Mönkemeyer and the Oliver Schnyder Trio to record Shostakovich’s piano quintet and the two piano trios. The album is now being released in a lovingly designed and lavishly equipped digibook in time for the 50th anniversary of the composer’s death on 9 August. The result is not only a recording at the highest level of chamber music, but also an interpretation of gripping emotional density that makes tangible what characterises Shostakovich’s work to this day: Music created in the tense relationship between personal truthfulness and external threat – by a composer who was able to articulate his resistance exclusively in music, while outwardly he felt compelled to be loyal to the Stalinist regime.

Julia Fischer describes Shostakovich’s music as an expression of despair – a feeling that is also reflected in this particular interpretation. The recording is characterised by high concentration, tonal depth and a seriousness that underlines the timeless power of this music.

Shostakovich’s Piano Quintet in G minor op. 57 was composed in the summer of 1940 and is one of the most important chamber music works of the 20th century. The composer, 34 years old at the time, had already had experiences that could hardly have been more contrasting: international recognition on the one hand, political persecution and personal threat on the other. The first performances of the quintet in autumn 1940 were enthusiastically received and deeply moved the listeners, because the music was able to express all the feelings that could not be expressed in words, it was ‘a message of compassion to the people who were still there and to those who had already been tortured and killed’. (Mikhail Shishkin)

The Piano Trio No. 1 in C minor op. 8, a work by the 17-year-old composer, is played much less frequently than the second, which belongs to the canon of major chamber music works of the 20th century. Nevertheless, this promising early work, which still refers to Romantic models, already bears traits of the expressive tension that would later characterise Shostakovich’s music: between lyrical intimacy, dramatic intensification and subliminal restlessness.

The Piano Trio No. 2 in E minor op. 67 was composed under the impression of the death of his close friend, the musicologist Ivan Sollertinsky. But it is not just a lament for his friend, it does not just express the pain of losing the composer’s relatives and friends, it is a requiem for the millions of victims of war and oppression. The Largo from the second piano trio was played at Shostakovich’s funeral – which makes the release of this recording on the 50th anniversary of the composer’s death all the more appropriate!