The French-Belgian Quatuor Danel is the key reference point for Shostakovich.
Since the French-Belgian Quatuor Danel won the first prize at the International Dmitri Shostakovich Competition in 1993, they have become the key reference point when it comes to this Russian grand master. What makes Shostakovich’s string quartets a unique document of their time is the fact that they span the whole of the composer’s eventful lifetime. Shostakovich led an extremely troubled existence which he tried to write out of his system chiefly in his string quartets. In the most dramatic of these, he appears to be shouldering the entire weight of the Stalinist dictatorship. In the more intimate quartets, the promise of a bright future shines through again.