Shostakovich: String Quartet No. 8
by David Fanning
200 pages.
Ashgate Publishing Ltd, 2004.
Includes 2 black-and-white illustrations and 36 musical examples. Accompanied by a CD.
ISBN 0 7546 0699 6.

Undoubtedly like many other Shostakovich fans, I was first introduced to the composer through the Eighth String Quartet. That first performance I heard was gripping from the first second until the final dying note, and became all so much more captivating once I read the programme notes. While any self-respecting Shostakovich book is required to mention the Eighth Quartet, an entire book devoted to the work is very welcome, and on the whole David Fanning has done a fine job in providing this ‘missing link’.

His book is divided into four sections:

• a closely focused historical background on the piece
• a broader historical view of the Thaw period and Shostakovich's place within it
• an in-depth analysis of the piece itself
• several appendices

In the first section, Fanning addresses an issue that seldom fails to arise when discussing this piece: does the Eighth Quartet derive all of its power from its quotations and allusions, or does its sheer musical power make it so compelling? Before expressing his own thoughts on the matter, Fanning draws extended quotes from other musicologists' discussions of the work, pitting their points against each other in a relatively unbiased manner. Fanning subsequently elaborates his own view, which is that the music is strong for its own sake, and that the quotes and allusions from other works are simply enhanced by their surrounding musical texture, and that they do not create it in themselves. It is at this point that he makes clear his goal to prove the inherent power of the piece, independent of external material.

The second chapter, dealing with the historical circumstances behind the Eighth Quartet's composition could, perhaps, have come first, as the reader might expect to go directly to the analytical aspects after the end of the first chapter. The historical setting Fanning does provide seems to cater to an audience that already knows some Soviet history. While I agree that this is a logical assumption and that most readers of this book will already have some familiarity with Shostakovich’s life history to some degree, those who do not will require to refer elsewhere for the finer contextual details.

For me, as someone well familiar with the material, however, Fanning's description did enhance certain points in my own knowledge of the work. The analysis section comprises most of the book, and is impressively thorough. It is supplemented by printed excerpts of the Shostakovich score in piano reduction, excerpts of some of the quotes and allusions also in reduction, and harmonic summary diagrams. The sections that are not reprinted in the book are referenced by rehearsal numbers. This is a wonderfully useful facility for the trained musician, but it should be noted that an enthusiast with no such training is likely to become lost in the musicological woods at this point.

As I said, Fanning's analysis is comprehensive, dealing with issues of rhythm, harmony, and structure. He makes the case that all three elements are equally important in creating the compelling texture of the work. The main structural concept is one of incompleteness - all five movements run into each other, and in the case of the middle three, they literally interrupt each other, cutting off recapitulations or expected developments, creating a sense of unease. Fanning also often returns to the subject of Shostakovich’s use of the fugue in the work, repeatedly pointing out that while the first movement seems headed in that direction, it is not until the last movement that this promised fugue develops in full, thus creating a strange sense of transfiguration rather than resignation.

Harmonically, the work is surprisingly static, which gives the shifts in texture and chords a heightened sense of emotion and tension, again finally resolving in the near-textbook fugue of the fifth movement. Rhythmically, Fanning reduces the work to several simple cells, which, like the work’s harmony and form, combine, stop in mid-track, fail to develop, or continue obsessively, all to promote the further sense of uncertainty.

While Fanning uses the DSCH motif as the main unit of analysis for all aspects of the piece (and how could one not with the Eighth Quartet?), he generally keeps true to his aim of regarding the quotations and allusions as secondary. He has sought out many of the more obscure citations (such as references to Saint-Saens' Danse Macabre or to Mahler's Fourth Symphony), but here most of them go unexplained other than in a chart at the beginning of the analysis chapter. It is only in his discussion of the fourth movement, which he regards as the climax of the work, that he integrates the external material directly into the analysis. He rationalizes this by noting that this movement serves as a nod to the listening audience in contrast with the rest of the work which is seen as a personal expression of Shostakovich's inner pain, and that the quote of "Tormented by Grievous Bondage" (which would have been known to the entire contemporary audience) is a very specific tool to stir up a more external reaction.

This chapter is thorough and detailed to the point where a trained musician who did not previously know the work should be able to envision each and every modulation. To someone who thought he might know the Eighth Quartet like the back of his hand, it presents exciting new revelations and concepts. However, I do think this book functions even better as an analytical tool when read directly alongside a score.

The analysis chapter is divided up by movements, and at the end of each movement description, Fanning provides a summary of same. I found this unnecessarily redundant, though the summaries would be far more comprehensible to the enthusiast who might have become lost in the more detailed terminology of the chapter’s main body.

The first of the three appendices deals with the song "Tormented by Grievous Bondage." It contains the full text to the song and an excerpt from a history of Russian revolutionary song tracing the development of the melody and its words, and what it had come to mean by the time Shostakovich cited it.

The second appendix is an assortment of quotes about the work from reviewers, friends of Shostakovich, and from the composer himself.

The final appendix deals with different recordings and arrangements of the Quartet, quoting different performers but mostly expressing Fanning's own preferences. The book is accompanied by a recording of the piece by Munich's Rosamunde Quartet, one of Fanning's personal favorites.

I found this book to be very readable, fascinating, thorough, and important for a veritable consideration of the Eighth Quartet. It would not, however, be a wise choice of reading material for the non-musician; but as Fanning emphasizes after all, the work continues to speak for itself without the aid of musical quotes or explanatory literature.

Julia Lozos
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