String Quartet No. 1 in D Minor, "Mask" (own composition) - Dedicated to Dmitri Shostakovich

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All the way back in August 2024, I created a draft for the first 10 bars of a potential solo piano tribute piece to Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich, one of the 20th century’s greatest composers, to be published to Musescore on the 50th anniversary of the composer’s passing the following year.

I didn’t touch it again until April 2025, when it came to my mind again and realised something. It wasn’t meant to be a piano piece, but instead a string quartet, paying tribute to Shostakovich's many famous string quartets. I immediately got back to work, and finished my first version in a week, a pace that really shocked me as I had given myself 4 months to complete it. I released a first-draft version to Musescore on the 18th April, stating that it was only a draft. This final version, a massive improvement over my first draft, is my proudest work to date, so I'm publishing it here too.

Across four movements and nearly 18 minutes, this quartet explores the emotional landscape of repression, grief, irony, and revelation. It is filled with references to Shostakovich’s music, especially his DSCH signature, featuring in every movement, and shaped by the emotional depth and duality found throughout his quartets. It is a tribute not only to his work, but to his courage in the face of the brutal dictatorship that was his home country, the Soviet Union.

Today, on the 9th of August 2025, we remember the life and legacy of Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich (1906–1975). He endured some of the worst moments in Soviet history, losing friends, freedoms, and nearly his life, yet still managed to leave us with music of unparalleled honesty and humanity, facing a regime defined by surveillance, censorship, and harsh punishment. May he continue to rest in peace.


Movement I (Allegro moderato)
There is a mechanical restraint that dominates this movement. The texture based on pizzicato, precise rhythmic conversation, and fragmented melodic material combine to create an impression of remoteness, as if the music speaks but never really reveals itself, instead it is meant to hide. Pay attention while listening for dryness, fragmentation, and formality of the music, all of which indicate an emotional world highly controlled below the surface.

Movement II (Larghetto serio)
The second movement is a grand lament. The lines stretch and warp with exposure, as if struggling to rise above silence. The harmonies get darker, only briefly respited by fragile quotations, maybe distant memories. The quartet breathes deeper here, but never easily. Listen for the expressive violin and cello writing, the tension in the shifting harmonies, and subtle nods to Shostakovich’s style, including the DSCH motif.

Movement III (Menuetto, Allegretto - Trio)
A dance, but not a joyful one. The music is formal, highly structured, and oddly cheerful, yet very odd and uneasy. The symmetry is too perfect. The transitions feel forced. Humour and control intertwine awkwardly, pointing toward a larger irony: the way in which performance itself can serve as a disguise. When listening, hear the mechanical rhythms, precise phrasing, and the illusion of joy. The players themselves seem caught in the contradiction.

Movement IV (Adagietto triste - Lento ma con moto)
This movement starts with fatigue. Long, searching lines give way to dry textures and aching counterpoint. The quartet begins to crack open, and with it, the guarded exterior collapses. Even in its final drive forward, the music never fully resolves. The burden remains. Note the emotional solo passages, closely intertwined duets, layered textures, and a final sense of resignation, as if honesty has arrived too late to offer peace.


Thank you so much for listening! If you enjoyed it, please consider leaving feedback and supporting me and this piece. This music comes from a very personal place, and it would mean a lot.

If you want to find this score and part scores on Musescore, and check out my Musescore account to see my other compositions and arrangements there, search for “Theo SM” on Musescore.

Made and recorded with Musescore Studio 4.5.2.

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