Music of Privacy – String Quartet No.3, Op.73

这可能是他最经常被演奏的四重奏之一。“The third quartet contains so many Shostakovich fingerprints that it must be considered one of the most characteristic of all his middle-period compositions…”

“Shostakovich himself considered his Third String Quartet to be one of his most successful works and in 1950 advised the young Edison Denisov - later to become a distinguished composer in his own right - to take it as his model:‘When you look through it, you'll see why　the first movement has to be played lovingly, not angrily.’”这是个很重要的来自作曲家的对于整部四重奏的基调的暗示。无论如何，“Life is beautiful. All that is dark and ignominious will disappear. All that is beautiful will triumph”。‘胜利’是一个容易被标本化的词语，我更愿意理解为‘Hope’。

“So, after the hilarious conclusion of this ‘prelude’, the beginning of the next movement presents rather a shock; humor now wears a totally different face: innocent wit has turned sour, and we are confronted with a grim and sardonic waltz.” Waltz是肖氏用来表达讥讽的常用的方式，熟练程度让人怀疑他是否是一笔挥就写完整个乐章。不能不赞叹他的第二乐章在整部四重奏里的安排，因此，第三乐章笔锋一转，粗暴的和弦出现的时候才有那样的震撼，让人毛发直竖。“The next two movements see his bitterness breaking, firstly into violence and aggression, then into sorrow and despair.”

末乐章的第一小提琴奏出的peace高高远远的飘来，让人甜蜜的心碎，wiping everything off。这也是他的四重奏里最不参其它杂质的明亮和充满信心和希望的结束，虽则典型肖氏的非现实的atmosphere还是若隐若现的在那里。