Krzysztof Penderecki: Sextet, String Trio, Cadenza, Per Slava, Divertimento Prazak Quartet, Sachiko Kayahara, Michel Lethiec, Premysl Vojta

• Krzysztof Penderecki (1933 - 2020): String Trio:
• 1Penderecki: String Trio: I. Allegro molto07:21
• 2Penderecki: String Trio: II. Vivace04:38
• Cadenza, per Viola Sola:
• 3Penderecki: Cadenza, per Viola Sola05:45
• Per Slava, for Cello Solo:
• 4Penderecki: Per Slava, for Cello Solo05:04
• Divertimento, per Violoncello Solo:
• 5Penderecki: Divertimento, per Violoncello Solo: I. Serenade01:55
• 6Penderecki: Divertimento, per Violoncello Solo: II. Scherzo03:23
• 7Penderecki: Divertimento, per Violoncello Solo: III. Notturno03:29
• Sextet for Piano, Violin, Viola, Cello, Clarinet and French Horn:
• 8Penderecki: Sextet for Piano, Violin, Viola, Cello, Clarinet and French Horn: I. Allegro moderato09:49
• 9Penderecki: Sextet for Piano, Violin, Viola, Cello, Clarinet and French Horn: II. Larghetto18:31
• Total Runtime59:55

Info for Krzysztof Penderecki: Sextet, String Trio, Cadenza, Per Slava, Divertimento

Krzystof Penderecki's music has undergone important stylistic changes since the days of his breakthrough work Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima (1960). Not least of these is his adoption of a more open tonality and a return to traditional forms and expressions, as is evident in his works of the 1980s and beyond. Yet one aspect of Penderecki's music that has remained consistent is his extraordinary handling of sonorities and advanced techniques, particularly with string instruments. The chamber works from his mature period demonstrate the same close attention to creating innovative sounds and timbres that made his early works seem utterly revolutionary. Now, with the passage of time, it is apparent that Penderecki's spiky effects in the String Trio (1990-1991), and elaborate contrapuntal voicings in the Cadenza for viola (1984), Per Slava (1986), and the Divertimento for cello (1994) are fully in line with the modernist chamber tradition, and that Penderecki's development is evolutionary. Even the Sextet for clarinet, horn, string trio, and piano (2000), for all its avant-garde frenzy and menace, is a tour de force of instrumental colors and textures that only a master orchestrator could accomplish. The members of the Prazak Quartet and their guests deliver vigorous performances in these 2005 performances, and Praga's sound is spacious and resonant.

"Today, having gone through the post-Romantic lesson, and having exhausted the potential of post-modern thinking, I see my artistic ideal in clarity. I turn to chamber music in the belief that more can be said softly, condensed into the tone of three or four instruments. This escape into musical privacy might be an answer of sorts of our own fin de siecle, to the acceleration of history and to the turmoil of overturned norms of culture, ethics and politics." (Penderecki, 1992)

Surrounded by friends and long-standing partners, the members of the Prazak Quartet, who are each of them great soloists, have recorded here the tribute to the greatest Polish composer alive, Krzysztof Penderecki, for his 70th birthday.

Pražák Quartet
Sachiko Kayahara, piano
Michel Lethiec, clarinet
Premysl Vojta, horn

The Pražák Quartet
one of today’s leading international chamber music ensembles - was established in 1972 while its members were students at the Prague Conservatory, and won major chamber music prizes early on, including first prize at the prestigious Evian String Quartet Competition, along with a special recording prize from Radio France. Since then, the quartet has gained attention for its place in the unique Czech quartet tradition, and for its musical virtuosity.

For more than 30 years, the Prazak Quartet has been at home on music stages worldwide. They are regular guests in the major European musical capitals such as Prague, Paris, Amsterdam, Brussels, Milan, Madrid, London, Berlin, and Munich, and have been invited to participate at numerous international festivals, where they have collaborated with such artists as Menahem Pressler, Jon Nakamatsu, Cynthia Phelps, Roberto Diaz, Josef Suk, and Sharon Kam.

The quartet has toured widely in North America, having performed in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Dallas, Houston, Washington, Philadelphia, Toronto, Montreal and many others. The quartet returns to the US and Canada every other year.

The Prazak Quartet has recorded extensively for Praga/Harmonia Mundi which, to date, has released 50 award-winning CDs. In addition to numerous radio recordings in France, Germany, the Netherlands, and the Czech Republic, the Prazak Quartet has also made recordings for Supraphon, Panton, Orfeo, Ottavo, Bonton, and Nuova Era.

As of 2020, violinist Marie Fuxová and cellist Jonáš Krejčí joined the quartet. The new members bring their extensive string quartet and chamber music experience, having played with the Pavel Haas, Škampa, Petersen and Schulhoff quartets as well as in many chamber orchestras and ensembles. They bring their experience and energy into the group while remaining faithful to the Czech quartet tradition, character and quality which are the longtime hallmarks of the Pražák Quartet. A new CD with the last string quartets of Josef Haydn will be released on the Aparté/Praga label in August 2021.

Booklet for Krzysztof Penderecki: Sextet, String Trio, Cadenza, Per Slava, Divertimento