12. Dmitri Shostakovich, Emerson String QuartetString Quartets

My relationship with Shostakovich’s music has grown over time. When I was younger, I didn’t fully understand it, but in the last decade or so, I’ve come to really absorb and love his work. It’s influenced not just the way I approach classical compositions, but also the textures and structures I explore in my own music. There’s a discipline and a freedom in his quartets that I’ve always aspired to emulate a rigour paired with emotional immediacy that feels endlessly inspiring.

Shostakovich has always been one of my favorite composers, and his body of work is impressively varied: from sharp, almost distinctly Russian idioms to touches of romanticism, atonal passages, and even early hints of minimalism. Across his string quartets, you can hear him traverse all these territories, often reusing melodies from his symphonies and weaving them into new contexts. The Emerson String Quartet’s interpretations of these works feel untouchable. Each performance is precise, expressive, utterly alive.