"Already It Is Dusk"

Górecki wrote his first quartet relatively late in his life, in 1988, at a time when he had moved away from the popular minimalist style of his Third Symphony towards a more eclectic style.  The title refers to a Polish folk song which is used as the raw material.  The title is taken from the text of the folk melody which provides the basic material of the work, heard first in the form of a cantus firmus in the viola as part of a dissonant but peaceful chorale.  The second section's tempestuous dance refers to the folk music of the mountainous Tatra region, where the combination of three fiddles with a cello is a characteristic ensemble.

Valse in C# minor (Op 64 No 2)          Frédérick Chopin

This, one of Chopin's last and best-known waltzes, has in fact been transcribed for violin or cello and piano: this evening, probably for the better, we hear Chopin's legendary writing for piano solo!  The chordal opening section has the feel of a mazurka, but the fluent second theme is more typical of a waltz.  The central section is in the enharmonic major equivalent, Db major.

Rondo in Eb major (Op 16)          Frédérick Chopin

One of Chopin's three rondos, this work opens with a passionate introduction in C minor which leads into the joyful main theme.  The second theme is still lively, but somewhat more subdued than the first.  The main theme returns, to complete the rondo, but is followed by a virtuosic coda.  The piece is challenging enough for the pianist, and again we hear it as intended, as a piano solo.

String Quartet No 2          Karol Szymanowski

Moderato dolce et tranquillo – Vivace scherzando – Lento

Szymanowski was much influenced by Chopin but also, amongst others, by Strauss, Bartók and Scriabin on the one hand, and Debussy and Ravel on the other.  His mature works, including this quartet, straddle the line between tonality and atonality.
The first movement opens with a faint murmuring in the strings against which a high violin barely whispers.  Soon the music rises to an emotional exchange among the four instruments.  The second movement begins with double-stop chords on all the instruments - a sonority shocking in its sudden violence: the influence of Tatra melodies is apparent in the variety of rhythms and tone colours.  The finale returns at first to the calm mood of the opening of the first movement.  The major part of the movement is a fugue that begins calmly but gradually gains in speed and passion until reaching an irresistible conclusion.  In failing health, the composer wrote little more after this fine work.

INTERVAL

Piano Concerto No 1 in E Minor          Frédérick Chopin

Allegro maestoso – Romance:  Larghetto – Rondo: Vivace

Chopin, the "poet of the piano" wrote very little orchestral music.  His two piano concertos, of which this is in fact the second, are preeminent in the genre.  Chopin is not writing, however, in the monumental "piano versus orchestra" style of the period but more in the chamber orchestra style of Mozart.  So, whilst it would be impossible to imagine a Liszt or Brahms concerto in a string quartet version, the theory that Chopin may have written this concerto first for piano and quartet is musically credible, and allows us to enjoy a Chopin concerto in Nairn.