TERRA MEMORIA – Saariaho, Shostakovich
TERRA MEMORIA is out now on CD and on all digital streaming platforms!
On this sixth album for Rubicon Classics, we pair Shostakovich’s Third String Quartet (1946) with Kaija Saariaho’s Second String Quartet Terra Memoria (2007). As on Reflections (2022), a new play of mirrors emerges between two composers, complemented by our own arrangements of Shostakovich’s Preludes Op. 34.
Shostakovich’s String Quartet No. 3 is an impressive statement – rich in dry humour, vicious sarcasm and sheer passion – in which the composer’s unique voice is expressed through the aftermath of the Second World War. Kaija Saariaho’s Terra Memoria, by contrast, dedicated “to those departed”, offers a meditative and gripping tribute that evokes memories, loss and quiet reflection
★★★★★
'A thoroughly absorbing performance'
The Scotsman
'Brilliant performance and the programming is a stroke of genius'
BBC Radio 3 Record Review
'Compelling Shostakovich and Saariaho from the Dudok Quartet'
MusicWeb International