Paris (2009)

Since its inception in 1995, the Szymanowski Quartet has striven to raise performance awareness of one of Poland's greatest composers: Karol Szymanowski. In 2008, they began a three-disc project that incorporates Szymanowski's music into three geographic paradigms. This disc transports listeners to Paris, one of Szymanowski's favorite and most frequently visited cities in Europe. Rather than strictly sticking to its namesake's music, the quartet branches out to other contemporary composers significant to both Szymanowski ... Read More

Since its inception in 1995, the Szymanowski Quartet has striven to raise performance awareness of one of Poland's greatest composers: Karol Szymanowski. In 2008, they began a three-disc project that incorporates Szymanowski's music into three geographic paradigms. This disc transports listeners to Paris, one of Szymanowski's favorite and most frequently visited cities in Europe. Rather than strictly sticking to its namesake's music, the quartet branches out to other contemporary composers significant to both Szymanowski and the city of Paris. The album opens with a transcription of Szymanowski's Nocturne & Tarantella, originally for violin and piano. Surprisingly, this is the weakest piece -- both in composition and execution -- on the program. Nothing is gained in the transcription from the original, and the quartet tries to force too much significance into it. The situation improves greatly in their edgy performance of Ravel's F major String Quartet. Folk rhythms are brought to the fore, and the... Read Less