The programme of Ãtma Quartet's concert on 2 December 2021 at 7.00 p.m. at the National Forum of Music in Wrocław includes two works. One of them represents the modern era, the other – Romanticism. What they have in common is their genius form, with the depth of emotions and the intimacy of expression going hand in hand with the mastery of craft.
Krzysztof Penderecki composed the String Quartet No. 3 'Leaves from an Unwritten Diary' in 2008. Its premiere took place on 21 November of the same year, exactly on the artist’s 75th birthday. It is a one-movement work in which the composer enters a dialogue with his past, as evidenced by the subtitle. The piece begins with a dark introduction marked as Grave (Italian: “hard”), followed by a restless, virtuoso episode of Vivace (Italian: “lively”), a sentimental waltz (Tempo di valse) and a romantic nocturne (Adagio notturno). A Hutsul or Gypsy melody played on the violin by Penderecki’s father from Rohatyn, also resounds here, developed in various ways: like a vague, last-minute memory recalled. This is one of the artist’s most moving, personal and reflective compositions.
An entirely different work is the dramatic, intense 14th String Quartet in D minor D 810 'Death and the Maiden' by Franz Schubert. The second movement, Andante con moto, is a variation on a song composed by Schubert to a poem by Matthias Claudius, in which a young girl asks death to spare her life.
The project is part of the commemoration of the centenary of regaining independence and rebuilding Polish statehood.
Media patronage: Polish Music Information Centre POLMIC.
Ticket Information: https://www.nfm.wroclaw.pl/