Shostakovich: String Quartet No.6 in G major, Op.101 (1956)
Allegretto
Moderato con moto
Lento –
Lento – Allegretto – Andante – Adagio
After the herculean labours expended the previous year on a total revision of Lady Macbeth of the Mtzensk District – smoothing off its harshest edges and turning it into the more “acceptable” Katerina Izmailova – this sixth quartet might well have arrived as a refreshing tonic, particularly since the years separating it from its predecessor had witnessed the end of one political regime and the dawn of a new era. It inhabits a relaxed, carefree world, not so far removed from that of No.4; but where the latter was built around climax and anti-climax, the formal plan of No.6 is centred on thematic inter-relationship. In this way an outwardly uncomplicated and easy going composition is given a cohesive skeleton which never has reason to disturb the untroubled freshness of the actual music; as if to ensure that the point is not missed, Shostakovich rounds off all four movements with the same distinctive cadence. But it was surely not any superficial cleverness which gave rise to this idea; rather it seems a natural product of the pervading spirit of good humour which, from the child-like simplicity and pastoral gaiety of the opening, is to the fore throughout much of the work. That deliciously genial mood – and the diatonic nature of the melodic material – continues into the next movement, although the chromatic lines of its central section impart a dream like remoteness which is reminiscent of the corresponding part of Symphony 9.
The Lento is a gravely beautiful passacaglia in which the first three variations are strictly polyphonic in texture, as opposed to the more static but no less eloquent ones which follow (this was one of the pieces the Fitzwilliam played to the composer during his visit to York in 1972, and it was a specially precious moment to be playing this deeply contemplative movement to him). The familiar cadence acts this time as a modulatory link to the finale, a sonata-rondo whose second subject is clearly defined by a change of texture and metre. There is a beautifully paced build-up to a festive climax, encouraged on its way by the now predictable (see Quartets 3 and 10) canonic recall of the passacaglia ground theme. By way of a blissfully drowsy version of the main subject, marked Andante, the pastoral intimacy of the very opening (or something close to it) is restored, the mutes now adding a strangely elusive but characteristic quality which sets the scene for the concluding appearance of our cadence friend, now Adagio in lazy contentment.
The sixth quartet may not be one of Shostakovich’s grandest, and neither does it aspire to such heights. Nevertheless, it is works like this which contribute so prominently to the range and diversity, and ultimately to the greatness and appeal, of the series as a whole.
© Alan George
