United States Shostakovich Cycle [I]: Jerusalem Quartet (Alexander Pavlosky, Sergei Bresler [violins], Ori Kam [(viola], Kyril Zlotnikov [cello]). Gartner Auditorium, Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, 21.4.2025. (MSJ)
Shostakovich – String Quartets: No.1 in C major, Op.49; No.2 in A major, Op.68; No.3 in F major, Op.73
There is arguably only one cycle of works in the twentieth century that rivals Shostakovich’s symphonies for sheer intensity, wry humor, terror and abyssal depths. And that is the same composer’s fifteen string quartets. Begun in the aftermath of Shostakovich’s first run-in with the ire of Joseph Stalin, after his opera Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk offended the fascist fool, the quartets became a more private forum for Shostakovich’s expressions than his large, publicly scrutinized works. And he needed that: after an official censure for his Ninth Symphony, Shostakovich completely ceased writing symphonies until Stalin was safely dead and embalmed. An intimate format like the quartet was followed by connoisseurs, not the general public, and the Soviet government showed much less interest in what Shostakovich expressed there. The works thus ended up charting more of the composer’s inner life than anything else he wrote.
This concert was the launch of the first complete cycle of the quartets to be presented in Cleveland: performances by the Jerusalem Quartet over five nights at the Cleveland Museum of Art, brought together and organized by the Cleveland Chamber Music Society. The opening night featured the first three quartets and made it clear that the Jerusalem Quartet has the grasp of these formidable works and the fearlessness to drive them home.
In comparison to the other pieces in the cycle, Quartet No.1 seems small, cheerful and almost Haydnesque. That is only in comparison, though, for the piece is full of the wit, mischief and explosive chemistry which mark Shostakovich’s finest work. Written in 1938, it must have been a relief for him to turn away from big public statements to a piece where he could write for the joy of making music without worrying about how others would parse it for meaning. The Jerusalem players quickly demonstrated their skill at the give-and-take of Shostakovich’s interactive writing, weaving around each other tightly yet allowing space for each player to establish a voice and presence. Ori Kam led off the moderate slow movement of the quartet searchingly, with rich tone but focused flow, soon followed by the other players. The muted scherzo was a quicksilver wonder, Alexander Pavlovsky and Sergei Bresler twining playfully around each other’s musical line. The movement’s inconclusive conclusion was delivered with perfect dry wit. The mixture of bright joy and sometimes wild roughhousing brought the finale equally to life.
Quartet No.2, written in the depths of World War II, is another world. The urgent, imperious opening was spun out by Pavlovsky with aggressively swelling chords from the other players, setting in motion a hair-raising journey, or hair-shredding in the case of cellist Kyril Zlotnikov, who played with such force that his bow kept losing hairs which he had to tear off whenever he could find a break of a few bars. The second movement introduces a classic Shostakovich trope, with the first violin ranging freely and expressively over a trance-like series of held chords from the other strings. In the nervous waltz that followed, Zlotnikov led the dance, inhabiting the mysterious melody with a sort of graceful anxiety. All the players made the most of their focal moments in the dramatic variations of the finale.
Quartet No.3 is roughly the same size as the second, yet it covers even more ground. The Jerusalem players savored the sardonic wit of the first movement but established the grim opposite pole with the stern Moderato second movement, taken a shade broader than most performances, which gave it a certain stoic manner, perfect for the staccato second theme. The following scherzo was fast and furious, the punchy chords ringing off into the corners of the dimly lit hall. The fourth movement plunged into the depths of tragedy, harrowing yet noble in its moments of restraint. The emotionally twisted finale was given with close attention to its convoluted turns from obscure gestures through folk-like melodic hooks, through the devastating return of the Adagio’s lament and on to an otherworldly, shell-shocked closing. The concert was met with a standing, cheering ovation by an audience clearly excited about taking Shostakovich’s epic journey with the Jerusalem Quartet.
Considerably abetting the players was a fantastic program booklet for the entire cycle, which highlighted additional events such as masterclasses and a screening of the Kozintsev film of Hamlet, for which Shostakovich wrote the score. The book includes detailed notes for the quartets by Peter Laki, as well as contextual timelines; a short bio of the composer; a celebration of the Cleveland Chamber Music Society (celebrating its seventy-fifth anniversary this year); a sample page from the program for the CCMS’s first concert in 1950, featuring the Hungarian Quartet; and previews of upcoming concerts by the Budapest String Quartet and a quartet drawn from the Cleveland Orchestra with then-music director George Szell on the piano.
Announcements were also included about the society’s next season, which will include visits from James Ehnes, the Belcea and Takács Quartets and Jeremy Denk, among many others. All that, combined with a striking design and large format, make it quite simply the finest program book I have ever encountered. Also of note in the concert presentation was a preview talk by James Wilding which was concise, informative, powerfully communicative and presented with utter conviction. It was a model of what preview talks should be, but so rarely are.
In sum, the Cleveland Chamber Music Society has excelled itself with the presentation of this cycle featuring visceral performances by the Jerusalem Quartet. The cycle will continue with Nos.4, 5 and 6 on 22 April; Nos.7, 8 and 9 on 23 April; Nos.10, 11 and 12 on 29 April; and Nos.13, 14 and 15 on 30 April. All performances are in the Gartner Auditorium in the Cleveland Museum of Art.
Mark Sebastian Jordan