David Cheng wrote:

>It seems to me that Shostakovich's string quartets are infrequently
>performed by string quartet ensembles here in the USA.  ...
>
>PS: I know that 2006 is the 100th anniversary of Shostakovich's birth
>so there will be plenty of festivals, but I'm talking about year-in
>year-out programming.

Well, here in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada the quartets -
particularly the 8th - get reasonably regular outings.  The Lafayette
Quartet, who are in residence at the university, studied with Dubinsky
and have recorded a couple of the quartets on Dorian, play him fairly
regularly.  One evening a few years ago they played the 3rd, 8th and
(with Dubinsky's widow) the piano quintet in a single programme.  A
jolly evening indeed.

Since I've been reviewing here (1992) I've heard the 8th in concert
perhaps 5 times (and I may have missed one or two), the chamber symphony
(Barshai's string orchestra arrangement of it) twice and the piano trio
several times as well.

Deryk Barker <[log in to unmask]>