FLINDERS QUARTET
Elizabeth Sellars • violin
Wilma Smith • violin
Helen Ireland • viola
Zoe Knighton • cello

with Paavali Jumppanen • cello

AGATHA YIM, POLYPHONIC PICTURES filming and editing
THOMAS GRUBB, MANO MUSICA sound engineering, editing and mastering

Filmed May 2025 in the Primrose Potter Salon, Melbourne Recital Centre, Wurundjeri Country/Southbank

This project was made possible through support from Creative Victoria, City of Melbourne and FQ’s Fifth String donors

DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH (1906-1975)
Piano Quintet in G minor, Op.57 (composed 1940)
I. Prelude: Lento
II. Fugue: Adagio
III. Scherzo: Allegretto
IV. Intermezzo: Lento
V. Finale: Allegretto

Shostakovich is a composer who constantly makes us listen with our eyebrows raised—not just because of the notes, but because of what he might be really saying.

His Piano Quintet is a masterpiece of ambiguity. Written in 1940, it earned him the Stalin Prize—which makes you wonder how something so layered and emotionally charged flew under the Soviet radar. But that was Shostakovich’s genius: writing music that could appear “acceptable” on the surface, while smuggling in real feeling underneath.

The Prelude and Fugue that opens the piece is almost architectural—there’s a grandeur to it, a sense of controlled weight. But then the third movement Scherzo kicks in, and everything turns wild, maybe even a little sarcastic. The Intermezzo is the emotional heart of the work—introspective and fragile, with long, aching lines. And the final movement? Well, it might sound cheerful at first, but if you listen closely, you’ll hear a kind of uneasy smile behind it. It’s joy… but with teeth.

What we admire most about this piece is its ability to speak honestly within strict constraints—something that resonates with so many artists across history. Shostakovich reminds us that resilience and subversion often go hand in hand.