Pianist Boris Giltburg’s transcription of Shostakovich’s String Quartet No. 3
November 3, 2023
Boris Giltburg is a self-described “hardcore fan” of Dmitri Shostakovich, and we were thrilled and honored that he joined us in August 2022 for a week-long residency at Tippet Rise to record the composer’s String Quartet No. 3.
Boris transcribed and arranged the work for piano himself, which you can listen to in high-resolution in our Music Download Library and watch a performance film of in our Film Library or on our YouTube Channel. The transcription is also now available in select countries through Boosey & Hawkes/Sikorski Music Publishers.
It was Boris’s first time at Tippet Rise, following the cancellation of the 2020 season when he was originally scheduled to perform. While we hope to welcome him back someday for a concert, this recording project proved to be especially meaningful.
Composed in 1946 under Stalin’s regime, Shostakovich referred to his String Quartet No. 3 as a “war quartet,” and yet for those who listened closely, there was a sense of much more beneath the surface. Boris and our Tippet Rise co-founder Peter Halstead write more on this in program notes available here. You can also watch a film Boris shared with us in 2021 for our “Postcards from The Season That Wasn’t” project, performing Rachmaninoff’s Prelude in D major, Op. 23 No. 4 and his Prelude in C minor, Op. 23, No.7.
Many thanks to our incredible team of sound engineers and filmmakers who oversaw the production of this entire project, including Monte Nickles, Jim Ruberto, and Kevin Richey, as well as our Artistic Programs and Production Manager, Rhema Mangus.