Bacewicz: String Quartets

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The Silesian lend vibrant warmth to [the First Quartet]…[and] handle [the later quartets] with precision and élan: a tremendous achievement — BBC Music Magazine, September 2016, 5 out of 5 stars More…

Release Date: 1st Jul 2016
Catalogue No: CHAN10904(2)
Label: Chandos
Length: 2 hours 12 minutes

Gramophone Magazine

August 2016

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Bacewicz: String Quartet No. 1

Work length15:27

$3.00

$3.90

Silesian Quartet
Recorded: February 2010 - January 2011
Recording Venue: Concert Hall, Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music, Katowice, Poland

I. Moderato

Track length5:47

$1.00

$1.30

II. Tema con variazioni

Track length5:37

$1.00

$1.30

III. Vivo

Track length4:03

$1.00

$1.30

Bacewicz: String Quartet No. 2

Work length22:00

$5.00

$6.50

Silesian Quartet
Recorded: February 2010 - January 2011
Recording Venue: Concert Hall, Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music, Katowice, Poland

I. Allegro ma non troppo

Track length6:42

$1.00

$1.30

II. Andante

Track length7:59

$2.00

$2.60

III. Allegro

Track length7:19

$2.00

$2.60

Bacewicz: String Quartet No. 3

Work length16:44

$3.00

$3.90

Silesian Quartet
Recorded: February 2010 - January 2011
Recording Venue: Concert Hall, Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music, Katowice, Poland

I. Allegro ma non troppo

Track length5:33

$1.00

$1.30

II. Andante

Track length5:49

$1.00

$1.30

III. Vivo

Track length5:22

$1.00

$1.30

Bacewicz: String Quartet No. 4

Work length20:24

$4.00

$5.20

Silesian Quartet
Recorded: February 2010 - January 2011
Recording Venue: Concert Hall, Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music, Katowice, Poland

I. Andante

Track length8:54

$2.00

$2.60

II. Andante

Track length5:38

$1.00

$1.30

III. Allegro giocoso

Track length5:52

$1.00

$1.30

Bacewicz: String Quartet No. 5

Work length25:35

$6.00

$7.80

Silesian Quartet
Recorded: February 2010 - January 2011
Recording Venue: Concert Hall, Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music, Katowice, Poland

I. Moderato

Track length8:19

$2.00

$2.60

II. Scherzo (Fuga). Giocoso

Track length3:17

$1.00

$1.30

III. Corale. Largo

Track length6:07

$1.00

$1.30

IV. Variazioni. Allegro

Track length7:52

$2.00

$2.60

Bacewicz: String Quartet No. 6

Work length16:22

$4.00

$5.20

Silesian Quartet
Recorded: February 2010 - January 2011
Recording Venue: Concert Hall, Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music, Katowice, Poland

I. Andante

Track length6:27

$1.00

$1.30

II. Vivace

Track length3:18

$1.00

$1.30

III. Grave

Track length3:32

$1.00

$1.30

IV. - Tempo comodo

Track length3:05

$1.00

$1.30

Bacewicz: String Quartet No. 7

Work length16:06

$3.00

$3.90

Silesian Quartet
Recorded: February 2010 - January 2011
Recording Venue: Concert Hall, Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music, Katowice, Poland

I. Allegro

Track length5:42

$1.00

$1.30

II. Grave

Track length5:38

$1.00

$1.30

III. Con vivezza

Track length4:46

$1.00

$1.30

About
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About

For their very first recording on Chandos, the multiaward winning Silesian Quartet presents the complete string quartets by Grażyna Bacewicz. These lesser known chamber music treasures by the Polish composer are neatly packaged in a slimline jewel case: two discs here offered for the price of one.

The life of Bacewicz, like that of better-known colleagues such as Witold Lutosławski and Andrzej Panufnik, was conditioned by the political and military events of her time. Her works reflected not only these traumas but also the shifting stylistic currents of twentieth-century music.

Her seven string quartets, written between 1938 and 1965, are a telling barometer of these changes. They also stand as a timeline of her resolute compositional outlook and as a testament to her profound understanding of string instruments. String Quartet No. 1 comes after her studies in Paris in 1932 – 35 with Nadia Boulanger (composition), André Touret, and Carl Flesch (both violin), No. 2 was written in Warsaw during World War II, Nos 3, 4, and 5 date from the post-war decade, a time of socialist-realist cultural upheavals, while Nos 6 and 7 were composed during the avant-garde musical explosion that thrust Polish music onto the world stage in the late 1950s.

Reviews

September 2016

The Silesian lend vibrant warmth to [the First Quartet]…[and] handle [the later quartets] with precision and élan: a tremendous achievement

August 2016

These seven works, composed between 1938 and 1965, add up to a compelling portrait of a powerfully original creative spirit...the whole group seem to understand this life-affirming music from the inside.

20th October 2016

This is now the favoured option in this repertoire.

21st July 2016

their default playing style is springy and fleet-footed, bringing out the idiomatic nature of Bacewicz’s string writing.

Music Week October 2016

Excellent performances, sound and booklet notes make this a real winner. A clear first choice for the string quartets of Grażyna Bacewicz.

Classical Music August 2016

This remarkable canon of works here receives advocacy of the highest order: equally at home in the instantly approachable early quartets as the more challenging sixth and seventh, the Silesian Quartet brings admirable focus, determination and concentration to every bar

Bacewicz: String Quartets

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