III. Allegro non troppo

Eyewitness accounts confirm that Shostakovich poured his entire soul into this quartet. Fyodor Druzhinin, who joined the Beethoven Quartet in 1964, told of a rehearsal for the piece which Shostakovich listened to intently, without interrupting even once: 'When we finished playing he sat quite still in silence like a wounded bird, tears streaming down his face. This was the only time that I saw Shostakovich so open and defenceless'. Outstanding: BBC Music Magazine, Klassik-heute.