Dmitri Shostakovich's String Quartet No. 3 in F Major, Op. 73

Shostakovich wrote his String Quartet No.3 in F Major, Op.73 in 1946 at the age of forty, right after the Second World War and not long after the completion of his Ninth Symphony. The Third Quartet is a large, symphonic work and is known as one of the compositions with which Shostakovich was the most pleased. It not only shows Shostakovich's absolute mastery as a chamber music composer skillfully deploying the string quartet to convey his entirely distinctive musical personality, but also shows many of his compositional characteristics. This treatise will provide a historical background and the influences on the Third Quartet, along with a brief biography of the composer and information on his string quartets. In addition, the quartet will be analyzed using traditional descriptive procedures providing insights into possible interpretive strategies based on a comparison of selected recordings by three notable string quartet ensembles.