Shostakovich: String Quartet No. 5, Op.92

Introduction

Dmitri Shostakovich's String Quartet No. 5 in B-flat major (Op. 92) was composed in autumn 1952. It was premiered in Leningrad in November 1953 by the Beethoven Quartet, to whom it is dedicated.

Structure

It consists of three movements, performed without a break:

1. Allegro non troppo -
2. Andante - Andantino - Andante - Andantino - Andante -
3. Moderato - Allegretto - Andante

Playing time is approximately 30 minutes.

The work grows from a five note motif: C, D, E flat, B and C sharp, which contains the four pitch-classes of the composer's musical monogram: DSCH (E flat being S and B being H in German). This motif appears in a number of his other string quartets, including the Eighth, as well as his Tenth Symphony.