DSCH

This is Dmitri Shostakovich's fabulous string quartet Nº 8 in C minor (Op. 110).
It has five interconnected movements, Largo - Allegro molto - Allegretto - Largo - Largo.

"DSCH" is Shostakovich's musical signature, there is much "behind" this piece as can be read on this page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/String_Quartet_No._8_%28Shostakovich%29

It is here interpreted magnificently by the Hagen Quartet: http://www.opus3artists.com/artists/hagen-quartet

This music has haunted me for years, and it took much time for me to dare enter it "with my eyes."
I thought I would first "tackle" Beethoven's late quartets, I guess it did not happen that way.

Not for the faint of heart, but so very "real," "for mature audiences only."

Almost 50 years ago, when in my third year in Art school (a 6-year programme at the Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts in Liège, Belgium), I made a pledge to myself to find ways to work which would carry through, regardless of my "external" circumstances.
That was not easy, it took years to materialize, but I am now 66 and can say that my pledge held, for which I am extremely grateful. (And yet, this was/is so "simple," it is what happens when I no longer know what to do, but persist, with care.)

Shostakovich's music and the story of his life (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dmitri_Shostakovich), clearly show that he too managed to carry on, regardless, and in conditions far more difficult than mine.

It is with immense respect and admiration that I dedicate this piece to his memory and to the countless victims of societal norms (past, present, and future).