Programme: Shostakovich In Memoriam Glazunov - Interludium in Stile Antico Move 3 (from 5 Novelettes opus 15) Rachmaninov - String Quartet No.1 Romance Scherzo Weinberg - Improvisation and Romance Shostakovich - Quartet No. 11 Op. 122 Interval Shostakovich - Two Pieces for String Quartet Elegy Polka Weinberg - Aria for String Quartet Op. 9 Shostakovich - String Quartet No. 1 in C major Lucy Russell, violin Andrew Roberts, violin Alan George, viola Ursula Smith, cello The original members of the Fitzwilliam String Quartet first sat down together, at Fitzwilliam College Cambridge, in October 1968 making the Fitzwilliam now one of the longest established string quartets in the world. International recognition came early for the FSQ, as the first group to record and perform all fifteen Shostakovich string quartets, drawing on the original player's personal connection with the composer. In August 1975. Benjamin Britten afterwards reported that his friend Shostakovich had told him the Fitzwilliam were his preferred performers of my quartets! Complete cycles were given in a number of major centres, including London, New York, and Montral. A new recording of the last three quartets was specially released by Linn in October 2019, to celebrate FSQ@50 year. The quartet through the years has been put at the service of diverse other composers spanning six centuries, from the mid-16th to the present day. Full details at https://www.wensleydaleconcertseries.co.uk/