Composed in 1977. Like the Thirteenth Quartet of his friend Dmitri Shostakovich, Weinberg’s work is cast in a single movement of approximately 15 minutes’ duration.
“A one-movement work of approximately 15 minutes in length, [the quartet] is in the neoclassical style of mid-century Soviet Russia, where simplicity and accessibility were demanded by the state. The musical language owes much to the middle-period works of Shostakovich…Enthusiasts of String Quartet No. 13 will be pleased to know that the prolific Weinberg composed 16 others that are still awaiting greater recognition.”–Strings magazine