01. String Quartet No. 5, Op. 42 - I. [0:06:46.24]
02. II, [0:05:55.86]
03. III. [0:01:53.76]
04. IV. [0:09:43.33]
05. V. [0:04:21.32]					play
06. String Quartet No. 6, Op. 51 - I. Con moto [0:05:29.01]
07. II. Prestissimo [0:03:24.76]
08. III. Lento [0:10:52.56]
09. String Quartet No. 8, Op. 67 - I. Tranquillo [0:04:45.04]
10. II. Furioso [0:03:36.33]		play
11. III. Infernale [0:04:04.14]
12. IV. Drammatico [0:04:29.69]
13. V. Tranquillo [0:06:08.42]

Wieniawski String Quartet:
Ryszard J.Osmoliński - I violin
Monika S.Osmolińska - II violin
Róża Wilczak-Płaziuk - viola
Arkadiusz Płaziuk - cello

The Wieniawski String Quartet makes its Naxos début with three important chamber compositions by its much-awarded compatriot Krzysztof Meyer, whose musical homeland is the chamber music of Viennese Classicism, enlivened with a dash of Bartok’s spicy musical accent. The composer describes his twelve string quartets as ‘sound-stories told with musical elements that the listener would care about, and not just a stream of acoustic stimuli’. High drama, playfulness, intense lyricism and narrative cohesion are the hallmarks of these splendid works.

The more I hear of Krzysztof Meyer’s music, the more he impresses me. So far, Meyer has written twelve quartets which places him amongst a select group of contemporary composers – Vagn Holmboe and Peter Maxwell Davies immediately spring to mind – who have given their time to this most intimate of media. These three works show different sides to Meyer’s art and are a most welcome addition to the growing number of recordings of his music.

Quartet No.5 has a prominent part for the cello – indeed, the first movement, all 6:46 of it, is a soliloquy for that instrument. This is a very serious rumination on the material presented. The mood is dispelled by a fast and violent music, which plays with metre and will set your head spinning trying to work out what’s going on. The third movement is a very short, and delicate, muted elegy. This leads into the fourth movement, again featuring the cello singing its song against a rich chordal background, until the rhythmic complexities of the second movement reappear and the argument starts all over again. A solo cello, then violin, lead us into the finale which is another elegy, and whilst it is not a musical summation of the whole work, it is emotionally.

The 6th Quartet comes as quite a shock after this intense work. The opening is lively and full of fun, but the tempo slackens and things become more serious, but never as bleak as parts of the 5th Quartet. The middle scherzo is light and frothy but the finale, which plays for longer than the other movements put together, is another elegy, deeply felt and brilliantly executed. The 8th Quartet has a more varied palette, and, despite what you might hear, is somewhat more conventional than the two other quartets on this disk. It also, strangely, contains more than a passing reference to the Shostakovich of his 8th Quartet. Meyer wrote the first book in Polish on the Russian composer. Having written this, though, I must point out that if you expect to hear Shostakovich in this music you won’t – it’s just the feel of the thing. A second scherzo is more mysterious, muted and a little macabre. The fourth movement is drama and the fifth a slow, reserved coda to the whole work.

Meyer says, “My musical homeland is the chamber music of the Viennese classic, extended by the most splendid of twentieth century musical worlds – Bartók’s”. Certainly I can hear, in these works, a continuation of that line of composition. That Meyer should be descended from those earlier masters – and Meyer is referring to Beethoven and Schubert, not Schönberg and his circle – is right and proper for here is chamber music which is meaningful, vital and expertly crafted. Every bit as important and essential as those earlier composers.

Full marks to Naxos for issuing this disk, for Meyer is a major figure and we cannot afford to miss his work. The recording is excellent, but the booklet suffers from, what I imagine to be a poor translation of the original Polish text. I cherish the idea that, “In String Quartet No.8 the instruments are exclusively playing arco and pizzicato.” I suppose that he means that no unusual methods of playing are required – such as the Bartók pizzicato, col legno or sub ponticelli. But as Meyer does none of these elsewhere one wonders why it was thought necessary to mention it. I am also at a loss to understand, “Quartet No.5 deserves to be called a chamber sinfonia concertante, with the cello in the foreground. This impression is created by the impetus of this piece, in which the five movements combine into two extended arches…” Surely it deserves to be called a sinfonia concertante because the cello is given a soloistic role from time to time. These notes really should have been checked before they were printed – it is the only fault in an otherwise welcome and exciting issue of very stimulating music. ---Briggs, MusicWeb International

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  1. String Trio Op. 81, I
  2. String Trio Op. 81, II
  3. String Trio Op. 81, III
  4. String Trio Op. 81, IV
  5. String Quartet No. 11 Op. 95
  6. String Quartet No. 12 Op. 103, Lento
  7. String Quartet No. 12 Op. 103, Con Ira
  8. String Quartet No. 12 Op. 103, Vivo
  9. String Quartet No. 12 Op. 103, Dolente
  10. String Quartet No. 12 Op. 103, Furioso
  11. String Quartet No. 12 Op. 103, Largo
  12. String Quartet No. 12 Op. 103, Adagio
  13. String Quartet No. 12 Op. 103, Prestissimo
  14. String Quartet No. 12 Op. 103, Appassionato

Kwartet Wilanów:
Tadeusz Gadzina, Ist violin 
Paweł Łosakiewicz, IInd violin
Ryszard Duź, viola 
Marian Wasiółka, cello

The Eleventh and Twelfth Quartets are Meyer's latest works in the genre. The Eleventh is a relatively brief piece in a single movement, whereas the Twelfth is a massive work in nine movements.

Meyer is a published authority on Shostakovich and completed his unfinished opera The Gambler, subsequently premiered in 1984. Not unexpectedly, and by Meyer's own free admission, Shostakovich looms large in these Quartets - no bad thing. The first Naxos volume noted Meyer's love of Bartók's chamber music, and the influence of his Quartets too is also in evidence. Given then these two eminent precursors, it comes as no surprise to discover that it is Meyer's fellow countryman and teacher Krzysztof Penderecki's later Quartets - 'Der Unterbrochene Gedanke' and his Third - with perhaps bits of Schnittke's own grittier Third, which are among the closest cognates - compare recent review of Penderecki - though it is worth bearing in mind too that Meyer's Twelfth predates Penderecki's Third by a good three years. Like Penderecki, Meyer dabbled in avant-garde techniques and forms in the early stages of his career, before eventually taking a greater interest in the rich and vast heritage of art music.

In any case, all the Quartets are intelligent and emotive, with a distinctive eastern European voice. This is expressive of melancholy and hope, restlessness and emptiness, darkness with glimpses of light that goes right to the heart of the turbulent human psyche. The lurching, searching character of the emotionally intense Eleventh Quartet perfectly encapsulates this, and it belongs to the finest single-movement Quartets of its time. --- Byzantion, musicweb-international.com

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Symphony No.7 ''Sinfonia Del Tempo Che Passa'', Op. 97
1 	Con Moto 	13:35
2 	Allegretto Capriccioso 	13:23
3 	Molto Lento 	14:36

Concerto For Violin, Violoncello And Orchestra, Op. 105
4 	Decioso 	13:53
5 	Lento 	10:32
6 	Precipitando 	11:01

Magdalena Rezler-Niesiołowska - violin [4 - 6]
Julius Berger - violoncello: Andrea Amati 'King Charles IX' (1566) [4 - 6]
The National Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra in Katowice
Gabriel Chmura – conductor [1 – 3]
Łukasz Borowicz – conductor [4 – 6]

If there’s one thing I have to thank MusicWeb International for, apart from the lovely people who write for it and run it, who are a sheer delight to work with, it’s the fact that I’ve been sent several CDs of music by Krzysztof Meyer to review. In Meyer I have found a truly worthwhile contemporary composer. Here’s a figure who can orchestrate brilliantly, can create tunes and long-breathed themes, knows what to do with them and how to work out his argument to a satisfactory conclusion. He’s not afraid to show his emotions and, best of all, Meyer is a composer who can easily communicate despite using a fairly modern language. To put his work in perspective, he’s not as way-out as either the Dane Pelle Gudmundsen–Holmgreen or the Norwegian Olav Anton Thommessen. He is way ahead in matters of immediate communication – more so than Allan Pettersson or even his compatriot Krzysztof Penderecki. His is a unique voice: highly passionate, very dramatic and richly conceived.

Here is a Symphony which is a real Symphony, one which, as Mahler said, “must embrace everything”. It certainly does that for this Symphony for the Passing of Time is a big work, playing for nearly 45 minutes, in three movements. Starting with a dark, slow, introduction - gongs, low strings, a theme for the clarinet - the music grows until trumpet calls seem to herald the fact that this music is approaching catastrophe. This is a marvellously built climax, and it is suddenly released in an allegro of great fire and urgency. Thrilling stuff. Imagine Shostakovich or Honegger with plenty of attitude. This is very disturbing music, and it’s not an easy listen but what a world it inhabits! It’s compelling and the never-ending forward thrust is irresistible. A brief moment of respite and the movement ends in unresolved defiance. The middle movement starts with an ostinato on pizzicato basses with a winding theme for flute. The angst returns, there’s a climax and we’re suddenly back in no man’s land with dissonant string harmonies. Thereafter, the music veers between large and small gestures. The finale is resigned, with some rich chordal writing for the strings. Here is real tragedy, filled with heart-felt emotion for the lost. The Symphony ends quietly, fading into nothingness. This is the point at which you must stop the disk for, despite 17 seconds of pure silence, you may need a longer rest before continuing with the music.

The Double Concerto is much easier to listen to, although it’s recognizably the same voice as the Symphony. It’s lighter in feel and, obviously, has to make allowances for the virtuosity of the soloists. The first movement starts with a long recitative for the cello alone, which is followed by a duet for the soloists. Then the orchestra brings in the main body of the movement – fast and angular; this is music for discussion. It’s incisive and dynamic, brilliantly orchestrated and superbly laid out for the soloists. The slow movement is in two parts. The first is pure melody, rich and long breathed song from the soloists over a shimmering orchestral accompaniment. Then the orchestra sustains chords whilst the soloists indulge in arabesque colouring. It is very restrained, subdued and intensely beautiful. The finale is all fun and frolics.

The performances of both works are excellent. It’s full of life and drama - the players and conductors obviously understanding, and enjoying, every minute of the music. The sound is bright and clear with a nice balance between soloists and orchestra in the Concerto.

This is exciting and wholly satisfying music in an idiom which is easy to assimilate. Whilst being in a modern language it is packed with tunes. Please give Meyer a chance because on the strength of what I have heard of his music he is well worth the effort. ---Bob Briggs, www.musicweb-international.com

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