Górecki's Third Quartet on new Kronos Quartet disc(March 2007) Nonesuch Records has released …songs are sung, the Kronos Quartet’s recording of Henryk Mikolaj Górecki’s long-awaited Third String Quartet.
In 1992, after having commissioned, premiered, and recorded Górecki's first two string quartets, Kronos Quartet asked him for a third. After persuasive exchanges with Kronos’ founder and artistic director, David Harrington, the Polish composer agreed, and the world premiere performance was scheduled for Carnegie Hall in 1994. But the piece never arrived. In Spring 2005, after thirteen years of persistence, patience, and cancelled performances, the Kronos Quartet and Górecki’s publisher Boosey & Hawkes finally received the score to Henryk Górecki’s Piesni Spiewaja (“…songs are sung”), String Quartet No. 3, Op. 67—a 50-minute magnum opus with the dedication, “To the Kronos Quartet, which for so many years has waited patiently for this quartet.” In a commentary attached to the score, Górecki added that the work had been completed in 1995, “but I continued to hold back from releasing it to the world. I don’t know why.” Click here to purchase the new CD from Amazon The world premiere performance of Piesni Spiewaja (“…songs are sung”) was given by Kronos in Bielsko-Biala, Poland, on October 15, 2005; the long-delayed Carnegie Hall performance finally took place on March 24, 2006, and was the work’s U.S. premiere. Piesni Spiewaja (“…songs are sung”) was commissioned for Kronos by The Carnegie Hall Corporation, the Angel Stoyanof Commission Fund, and the Kosciusko Foundation. The quartet’s title is inspired by the last line of a poem by the Russian poet Velimir Khlebnikov, “When people die, they sing songs.” The release of the album marks a two-decade relationship between Górecki and the Kronos Quartet, which began with Already It Is Dusk, String Quartet No. 1, Op. 62, composed for Kronos and completed in 1988. Quasi una fantasia, String Quartet No. 2, Op. 64, also was written for the group, in 1990/91. Recordings of both pieces are available on the Nonesuch label. "The first movement is as powerfully consoling as anything Górecki's written." The Times "The performance is beautifully paced and achingly intense." The Scotsman "A work of music that will conquer the airwaves and be extremely hard to avoid in the months to come." Evening Standard > Further information on Work: ...songs are sung > News Search |
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