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The Manhattan String Quartet celebrates the 100th anniversary of the birth of Dmitri Shostakovich. As one of the preeminent interpreters of the 15 quartets of Shostakovich, the Manhattan String Quartet will devote a great part of its 2005-2006 season to commemorating this great Soviet composer and his masterful contribution to the string quartet genre. With Shostakovich Quartet cycles scheduled from New York to Tokyo, the Manhattan Quartet will traverse the globe sharing the profound depths of human expression found in these extraordinary works.

We are offering performances of the Shostakovich cycle of fifteen quartets for the 2005-2006 season in a variety of formats -- from a series of four or five separate concerts to a marathon single-day of all fifteen quartets!

To see the Concert Schedule for our Shostakovich Centenary Celebration, click here

The Manhattan Quartet’s association with the Shostakovich Quartets began in 1985 with a series of concerts in Moscow and Leningrad, which led to two full tours of the Soviet Union in 1986 and 1989. Upon returning home, the MSQ presented the first performance of the complete cycle of quartets in the United States -- done in one marathon day of four concerts, beginning at 10 AM and finishing at 11 PM

They have since performed the cycle in New York three times: at the Town Hall, at Lincoln Center for the Great Performers Series, and at Hunter College’s Kaye Playhouse. The MSQ has also performed the complete Shostakovich quartet cycle in Paris for French National Radio and numerous times throughout the United States on concert series and for Shostakovich symposia.

The Manhattan Quartet will present the Shostakovich quartet cycle this season in single day marathons in October 2005 in Nagoya and Tokyo, Japan. They will also traverse the cycle in multiple performances in the United States including New York City.

The MSQ’s recording of the Shostakovich quartet cycle was the only chamber music recording to be named by TIME magazine in its "Best of 1991” classical list. It is with great joy and anticipation that we participate in the worldwide celebrations of Dmitri Shostakovich’s life and music.