Classical Music: Mendelson And Bacewicz Chamber Works

Two relatively unknown 20th-century Polish composers, Grażyna Bacewicz and Joachim Mendelson, are featured on this album. Both completed studies in Warsaw, Berlin, and Paris and also benefited from the Association des Jeunes Musiciens Polonais, a society that aimed to re-establish a national life at the highest level back in Poland after the country’s long occupation by Russia, Prussia, and Austria. Bacewicz studied with Nadia Boulanger.

That Bacewicz is given a voice is a tribute to the Silesians, whose Polish heritage ensures that the interpretations and performances offer the listener an authentic insight into the textures of these compositions, especially since the two works by Bacewicz were rejected by the composer and never included in her catalogue of works.

The rhythmic precision and assured technique required shine through. The interesting Quatuor (a cordes) the later of her two works c1965 represented on this disc, transports the listener to a soundscape where the musical colour is like a changing weather pattern, often brash, delicate, lyrical, tense, and desolate. The arc of the music sways with confidence and captures some of the composer’s humour. The Silesians’ expertly capture the moods in all the pieces.

Mendelson's Quintet is a lovely, energetic work. Stalmachowska’s articulation is excellent, and she is joined by pianist Salajczyk, who matches her virtuosity, plus the Silesians' first violinist, violist, and cellist for a lively performance of this spirited work. Mendelson’s writing excellently balances the different instrumental voices. The third movement, Allegro con brio, is lively, and as Katarzyna Naliwajek points out in the notes, the ‘last movement masterfully blends different moods and hues, as instrumental parts are more often paired than opposed'.

These are absorbing and insightful performances.