Shostakovich String Quartet No.

8 Analysis
Overall, I would describe the piece as quite dark which is
achieved through its minor tonality. There is a lot of dissonance
throughout the piece which could be because the melody often
uses notes outside of the scale of the key. There are five
movements to the piece which I would categorize as one and
five being gloomy , two and three sounding very agitated and
evoking danger. Movement four contains elements of both of
these styles.
The gloominess in movements one and five are achieved by a
frequent use of pedal notes and slurs. This makes the
movements very legato which when combined with the largo
performance direction and the fact that both these movements
are in C minor creates a very dreary, melancholic sound. The
majority of the time in these movements the instruments are
told to play very softly which gives them a calming quality.
Movements two and three are written in allegro and allegretto
so they are the fastest movements of the piece. The sense of
danger is created through the use of sudden staccato notes
directed to be played in fortississimo in the second movement
as well as the use of pizzicato on clashing notes in the third
movement. Agitation is created through the quick notes in the
second movement and use of trills in the third movement.
The fourth movement contains elements from both these two
moods created in the piece. It includes pedal notes as well as
loud staccato stabs at the start of the movement which soon
leads into a more legato, calming melody and then back to the
theme at the start of the movement before entering the final
movement.

By Callum Murray