麻豆影院

A thematically diverse and technically challenging collection of Dmitri Shostakovich pieces has garnered the College of Music鈥檚 resident chamber ensemble its fifth听Grammy nomination. The听罢补办谩肠蝉听Quartet鈥檚 album 鈥淪hostakovich: Piano Quintet and String Quartet No. 2,鈥� recorded with longtime collaborator, pianist听Marc-Andr茅听Hamelin, was nominated for Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance.

鈥淚t鈥檚 always exciting to be nominated for a Grammy, because your professional peers are the ones recognizing the recording,鈥� says听Edward Dusinberre, first violinist of the. 鈥淚n this case we played with such conviction because we felt an unusually strong connection to this powerful music.鈥�

Dusinberre says that connection came from the quartet鈥檚 journey to record the pieces and the context in which Shostakovich composed them. The听罢补办谩肠蝉听recorded the disc in May 2014 at a recording facility in the Wye Valley, on the border of England and Wales. It鈥檚 a pastoral getaway, free from distractions, and is a welcome escape for the quartet, which spends much of the year on the road.

The pristine and perfect circumstances hit an odd snag early on in the recording. 鈥淢arc-Andr茅听mysteriously threw out his back as soon as he arrived,鈥� Dusinberre explains. 鈥淗e was unable to get out of bed until the manager of the hotel came up with a painkiller solution.鈥�

It worked, and the quartet wheeled Hamelin to the studio on a desk chair鈥攚here he proceeded to perform brilliantly. 鈥淪ometimes the best music making comes when you鈥檙e up against it. When we received the nomination, it made me smile because I remembered the adversity we faced to record these pieces.

鈥淲hen you have to dig really deep, you find something extra, and you can hear that in Marc-Andr茅鈥檚听performance.鈥�

The album features some of Shostakovich鈥檚 World War II era work. The first piece, String Quartet No. 2 in A Major, Op. 68, was composed in 1944. 鈥淚t鈥檚 an immensely sorrowful piece鈥攁n elegy for the death and loss of that period,鈥� Dusinberre explains. 鈥淭he final movement begins with a plaintive melody that passes from the viola to the other instruments. It鈥檚 a very melancholy statement.鈥�

The second piece on the disc, the Piano Quintet in G minor, Op. 57, was written in 1940 and, by contrast, ends with a sigh of relief. 鈥淚t begins very dark and intense, but the third movement is lively and almost manic in its intensity. In the last movement, the music reaches a place of contentment, and it鈥檚 kind of like Shostakovich was walking off into the sunshine. Or is it too good to be true? There is perhaps ambiguity in the carefree nature of the ending.

鈥淲hat makes this coupling work so well is the range of emotions,鈥� Dusinberre says.

The听罢补办谩肠蝉, a Hungary-founded group known well for playing Hungary-born composer听B茅la Bart贸k, hasn鈥檛 always had Shostakovich in its repertoire. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 why I think we鈥檝e had success with this recording,鈥� Dusinberre says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a project we cared a lot about because coming to Shostakovich鈥檚 music has been a process for us.

鈥淲e thought very deeply about it and only arrived here because we realized there was something special to communicate in his music.鈥�

Also a credit to the album, Dusinberre says, are Andrew Keener and Simon Eadon, the producer and sound engineer with whom the quartet has been working for about 15 years. 鈥淭heir musicianship, their ears and the atmosphere they create are big factors. They should get the nomination, too.鈥�

While the Tak谩cs听are no strangers to award nominations, neither are the other faculty members at the College of Music. Indeed, Assistant Professor of Voice Abigail Nims is also nominated for a Grammy as part of听recording of Claudio Monteverdi鈥檚 鈥淚l Ritorno d'Ulisse in Patria.鈥�

Dusinberre says as he and his colleagues continue to pursue their passions as musicians, it sets an example for their students. 鈥淚t鈥檚 good for them to realize that those of us who are happiest are exploring the things that mean the most to us as musicians. I hope that when they see us nominated and rewarded, it鈥檚 encouragement to find what matters most to them.

The nomination comes at a busy time for the Tak谩cs: the group听just wrapped up听a tour of a world premiere piece, commissioned by Carnegie Hall and Baltimore鈥檚 Shriver Hall. And Dusinberre just published his first book, 鈥淏eethoven for a Later Age: The Journey of a String Quartet.鈥�

The book delves into Beethoven鈥檚 string quartets, comparing the pieces themselves, the musicians who first played them and the audiences who first heard them to the current music world. Dusinberre says it features the CU-麻豆影院 campus and the Tak谩cs听Quartet鈥檚 time here prominently.

He says it took about six years to write. 鈥淚 knew it would be a long haul, but the rhythm of writing a book is totally different from preparing a piece of music, too,鈥� Dusinberre explains. 鈥淎s musicians recreating a score, we don鈥檛 have anything to revise except our interpretation because the notes are already in place. When writing a book, there are some great days, but there are some rough days, too. And the revision process is very involved. Fortunately I鈥檓 surrounded by academics in my family, who were there to give me a lot of encouragement.鈥�

The book will be on some bookshelves in England before Christmas, with a wide release in the United Kingdom in January and in the United States in May.

The Grammy Awards are Feb. 15, 2016.