Piano Quintet No. 1

Grażyna Bacewicz (1909 - 1969) - Piano Quintet No. 1 (1952) I. Moderato molto espressivo [0:00] II. Presto [8:19] III. Grave [12:50] IV. Con passione [20:52] Kaja Danczowska, violin I Agata Szymczewska, violin II Rtszard Groblewski, viola Rafał Kwiatkowski, cello Krystian Zimerman, piano (2009) Grażyna Bacewicz's Piano Quintet No. 1, written one year after her fourth string quartet, is a work in four movements typically lasting around 24 minutes. "This is a strong, rhythmically alert quintet in an attractive neo-Classical style. As is usual with Bacewicz, the rhythms in the music are often rapid, driving, and infectious. The style of the quintet is mid-century neo-Classical. It is a firmly tonal work whose harmonic language is closer to the inter-war French model than anything else. The first movement begins with an introduction marked Maestoso molto espressivo. This section is brooding, as if considering a course of action on which something vital hinges. There is a short accelerando that starts a formal sonata allegro form in fast tempo. Bacewicz uses mostly short and easy remembered and recognized themes. The second movement, Presto, is in the strong rhythm of the oberek, a Polish folk dance Bacewicz was fond of using in her own music. This is in a 6/8 rhythm that sometimes breaks into groups of three duplets as a surprise against the prevailing grouping of two triplets. The writing is clear, with the piano tending to play doubled lines rather than chords, a texture that reduces the chances of the piano unduly dominating the texture. There is a central slow section that is calm and reflective, a bit sad. An even sadder slow movement follows, marked Grave. It has a slow funereal tread and an air of grief. The finale, Con passione rapidly alternates between an initial highly intense statement and a lighter-feeling theme. This alternation produces a tension that doesn't entirely dissipate. Indeed, rapid driving rhythms only serve to heighten the movement's sense of conflict. At the end, the music returns to the material and mood of the quintet's introduction." (source: AllMusic)