Dariusz Przybylski Already it is Dusk

Known worldwide for his Symphony No. 3, 'Symphony of Sorrowful Songs', Polish composer Henryk Górecki enjoys an exceptionally high profile as a composer of contemporary music. Now the Molinari Quartet has chosen to explore Górecki's chamber works with this new recording of his complete string quartets. Each quartet bears a descriptive title. The first, 'Juz sie zmierzcha [Already dusk is falling]', is named after the opening line of a motet by a Polish Renaissance composer. The second, 'Quasi una fantasia', invokes Beethoven, acknowledged by Górecki himself as his muse for his first two string quartets. The title of the third quartet,… songs are sung, comes from a line by the Russian poet Velimir Khlebnikov.

The 20th century has not been kind to most standard classical music forms. The piano sonata, the concerto, the symphony – none of them have disappeared entirely, but none remain in a state that could be called even remotely healthy. The same was true of the string quartet until 1973, when violinist David Harrington got some friends together to play contemporary music and offered his old high-school composition teacher a bag of donuts if he'd write a piece for them…