COMPOSERS: Szymanowski/Bacewicz
LABELS: ASV
WORKS: String Quartet No. 1; String Quartet No. 2; Bacewicz: String Quartet No. 4
PERFORMER: Maggini Quartet
CATALOGUE NO: CD DCA 908 DDD
The two quartets (1917 and 1927) of Karol Szymanowski are beautifully evocative pieces, reconciling an Impressionist sound-world with influences from Polish folk music, and representing the composer at the height of his powers. The music’s special intensity is ideally captured by the Maggini Quartet and the ASV engineers, and the same can be said of the fine Quartet No. 4 (1950) by Grazyna Bacewicz, in which the balance between lyricism and vigour is splendidly realised. Terry Barfoot
Szymanowski/Bacewicz
The two quartets (1917 and 1927) of Karol Szymanowski are beautifully evocative pieces, reconciling an Impressionist sound-world with influences from Polish folk music, and representing the composer at the height of his powers. The music’s special intensity is ideally captured by the Maggini Quartet and the ASV engineers, and the same can be said of the fine Quartet No. 4 (1950) by Grazyna Bacewicz, in which the balance between lyricism and vigour is splendidly realised. Terry Barfoot
Published: January 20, 2012 at 2:31 pm