The
Warsaw Quintet is a revival of the ensemble founded by "The Pianist" Wladyslaw Szpilman. Today's ensemble is made up of pianist Krzysztof Jablonski, Konstantly Andrzej Kulka,
Krzysztof Bakowski, Stefan Kamasa, and Rafal Kwiatkowski, some of whom were students of the original quintet's members. To carry on the legacy of that original group, the quintet has recorded two works that it used to play: quintets by Juliusz Zarebski and Grazyna Bacewicz.
Juliusz Zarebski was one of those composers who died too early. He was only 31 when he died in 1885. By all accounts, he was a great pianist, who was encouraged by his teacher, Liszt, to try composition. Written in his last year, his Piano Quintet in G minor, Op. 34, is considered his masterpiece. The
Warsaw Quintet gives it joie de vivre and sweet warmth that enhance Zarebski's writing. It's obvious that Zarebski was a pianist, the way the entire keyboard is used and how very pianistic the part sounds. But what elevates this work, and why it should be more widely known in that small list of great works for the ensemble, is that Zarebski created a piano quintet that is musically sound and enjoyable for all the performers as well as the listener. The instruments are well integrated, neither the piano nor the string quartet is subordinated to the other, nor are they adversaries. The lyricism of the strings is frequently, but gently, contrasted with more varied textures from the piano. Emotional suspense and tension are broken up with rays of sunlight. Gripping excitement is broken up with interludes of calm. The Scherzo movement references folk dance rhythms. There are also thematic connections between movements. There isn't too much more one could want from Romantic chamber music.
The Bacewicz is only slightly more well known than the Zarebski. It is a basically tonal work, but the way dissonances and changing harmonies are used to augment the emotion, plus clean lines, mark this quintet as unmistakably twentieth century. She does stick to sonata-movement forms, and her textures tend to be more unified between all the instruments than Zarebski's. The music created from all these elements, as the
Warsaw performs it, has the feel of an almost spontaneous outward expression of personal moodiness. It could easily be choreographed, as Bacewicz's sense of rhythm and shifting meters add a great deal to the emotion in each movement, particularly the middle two. The Scherzo, like Zarebski's, uses folk dance, generates its playful nature by placing strong beats in unexpected places. The third movement blends a funeral march with an elegy.
The
Warsaw Quintet has done listeners a favor by putting these two piano quintets together. They not only care for the music, but understand its history within the realm of Polish music. Plus, they exhibit high standards of ensemble performance that make the music thoroughly enjoyable. Their sound is well-balanced and excellently captured by Dux.