Witold Maliszewski (1873-1939)
String Quartet in F major, Op.2 (1903)
String Quartet in E flat major, Op.15 (1914)
Camerata Quartet
rec. undated, State School of Music, Giżycko, Poland
PSCM Records PSCM003 [71]
Witold Maliszewski is represented on disc by a symphonic cycle as well by a series of chamber works, a number of which have been reviewed on this site where you will find biographical details about the composer. Of special relevance, though, is the recording that contains both the string quartets on the disc under review, played by the Four Strings Quartet in 2015-2016.
The Camerata Quartet’s more recent traversal – though undated so far as I can see in the booklet – adopts more leisurely tempi in both works. The benefit in expressive horizontality may well be balanced against the resultant lack of energising vitality, though this is largely a question of individual preference. What’s not in doubt is the commitment of this long-established ensemble.
The composer is still not well-known, so a quick look at those previous reviews may well serve to orientate him stylistically. His Quartet in F major, Op.2 forms a considerable structural contrast to the later work. The 1903 quartet offers four conventionally-sized movements that start by offering mellifluous and fulsome lyricism, fortunately buttressed by changes of metre and disruptive elements that stop the music becoming merely amiable. If the Scherzo that follows majors on ostinati these are accompanied by guitar-imitating pizzicati and then the slow movement is predicated on a Slavic theme which is itself malleable and sways richly, ricocheting back and forth between emotive states: not a Tchaikovsky wallow, in other words. The longest movement is the last, a very competent one with a moment reserved for a bright fugato though, to be frank, it’s not without its longueurs.
The 1914 Quartet offers a very different scheme – a very long (here 22-minute) opening Theme and Variations followed by two conventional movements, a slow one and finale. Certainly, Maliszewski could balance introspection and more extrovert writing, as it’s rather a constant feature of the eight variations that they swing between these poles – indeed it seems to have been a feature of his quartet writing generally to do this. Thus, one can find lively pizzicato episodes, and a rather melancholy funereal variation, as well as less extreme contrasts all marshalled with skill. Whether it sustains its length is another question, certainly because for all the variation form, it might as well be a suite. Still, it’s followed by a very light-hearted Andante tranquillo, full of fanciful touches and a lot of playful pizzicati, and an engaging finale, complete with another brief fugato, that has the courage to end slowly.
It’s fine that we have competing versions of these two quartets. This one has a reasonable level of documentation and preference will depend on how much latitude you’re prepared to grant. If the addition of the Aria played by pianist Artur Cimirro – it lasts two minutes – sways things, it’s included in the Acte Préalable disc.
Jonathan Woolf
Availability: Qobuz
