July 20, 2022

Grazyna Bacewicz: String Quartet No. 4

Grażyna Bacewicz (1909–1969) played a leading role in making Polish music an integrated part of the contemporary European music scene - like Lutosławski, Gorecki and Penderecki (in whose shadow she stood for too long, before now finally being recognized). Following in the footsteps of Szymanowski, her works convey a striking emotional directness by combining elements of native Polish folksong with a modernist style.


After graduating from Warsaw conservatory in 1932, Bacewicz went to Paris where she studied with the redoubtable Nadia Boulanger in a cosmopolitan atmosphere - she would return two more times to France. In Poland, she concentrated on playing and composing and became concert master in the newly formed Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra. She continued composing during the difficult war years (Second String Quartet, First Symphony and the popular Overture for orchestra). For the first decade after the war, the political and cultural situation in her homeland imposed limits on her activities - her works written from 1945 to 1955 were in a “neo-classical” style, but from 1956 on, when there was more freedom, her style could evolve in a more contemporary direction. Bacewicz continually looked for ways to develop her style, while maintaining her dedication to form, logic and expression..

The string quartet No 4 dates from 1951 and is one of the composer's most performed works. It realizes a perfect balance between formal complexity, harmonic sophistication and approachable melodies. The quartet has the following movements: (1) Andante - Allegro moderato, (2) Andante and (3) Allegro giocoso. Played by the Szymanowski Quartet.  

P.S. Also read my note about Bacewicz Third Quartet, in the series "Best String Quartets, Part Five (Postwar period)."