

After the intermission the quartet played the piece. And after that there is a QandA session where the audience can ask questions to Kapilow or the musicians. Someone asked if this study made the musicians see new things and play differently and the first answer was that back stage they had just remarked that very statement.
Shostokovich's music is quite dark and full of dissonance. He lived a tough life in the Soviet Union and was first denounced by Stalin in 1936 who wrote an article entitled Muddle Instead of Music. Many people think he wrote this piece to prepare for his funeral (it died 15 years later) and we were told that the notes D S C H appear on his gravestone.
All in all it was an interesting evening.