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14 SHOSTAKOVICH
The stifling String Quartet no.8 is very different. It was written in 1960, when the
composer’s life was again clouded, and he had recently been through a serious
inspirational crisis. In the ruins of Dresden, he attempted to complete his music for
the film
Five Days - Five Nights
.
This newquartetwaswritten in just three days, between 12 and 14 July. Shostakovich
had this to say about it:
‘I composed my Quartet no.8 with the idea that, if I happened
to die, no one would think of writing a work to my memory. I
therefore decided to write it myself. The cover could bear the
words: “Dedicated to the author of this quartet.’