Presents
Karol Szymanowski
String Quartet No.1 C Major, Op.37
Karol Szymanowski, (1882-1937) was born in the Ukrainian town of Timoshovka, then part of the Russian Empire. He was born into the Korwin-Szymanowski family who were members of wealthy Polish nobility from the Mazovia region, the capital of which is Warsaw. He initially studied music with his father before eventually enrolling State Conservatory in Warsaw where he studied with Zygmunt Noskowski among others. He is generally considered the foremost Polish composer of the early 20th century. He traveled widely and in Berlin he helped found the Young Polish Composers’ Publishing Firm dedicated to bringing out the works by his countrymen. Up until 1913, his compositional style showed the influence of Richard Strauss, Wagner, and Scriabin. During World War I, he studied Islamic and Greek culture and their influence can be heard in the music he composed during this period.
His String Quartet No.1 in C Major dates from 1917 and was dedicated to the French musicologist Henri Prunieres. It opens with a lyrical Lento assai introduction that sounds post Impressionist. An Allegro moderato follows, full of drama and tension. There are rapid swings of mood and tempo. A fascinating passage marked scherzando alla burlesca, placed in the middle of the movement, stands out. It is by itself, virtually independent from the rest of the movement. The slow middle movement, In modo d’una canzone, is song-like, poignant and dark. The finale has wit and drive. It is characterized by its lively energy. This reflects the fact that it was originally written as the scherzo of a four-movement work; but Szymanowski finally decided, as late as 1924–5, that it should stand as the finale of a three-movement quartet. It begins with three sudden chords reminiscent of Beethoven. As the music proceeds, there are a succession of contrasting episodes of great rhythmic and thematic variety. It includes a fugue and a set of variations. As it concludes, the music becomes faster and more exciting, but then unexpectedly winds down, ending quietly with pizzicati.
We can recommend this important work to professional ensembles and encourage them to bring it into the concert hall where it is sure to engage audiences which have a chance to hear it.
Parts: $24.95
Parts & Score: $33.95
