String Quartets 1

Musicologist Adrian Thomas considered Grazyna Bacewiczs string quartets unrivalled in 20th-century Polish music and one of the centurys most significant contributions to the genre. Her folk-music infused First Quartet dates from student days at the Paris Conservatoire, while exceptional polyphonic skill, intense emotion and playful, high spirits characterize the Third Quartet. Both the Sixth and Seventh Quartets unite tradition with a strikingly effective and highly personal exploration of progressive contemporary techniques. As Lutoslawski observed, in the rapidly changing artistic currents of the times, it was [Bacewiczs] music which helped create that atmosphere.