SKU: BO.B.3414

English comments:
Concertino for violin and string orchestra was composed in 1993. It is a pleasant score with a slightly virtuosic touch written with the idea of creating a relaxed atmosphere in which the soloist and the orchestra can display their technique and expressive capabilities. It is a work, similar in lenght to baroque concertos, and is divided into three movements, folowing the conventional form.: two fast movements around a slow one. Te first two movements -Allegro burlesco and Adagio cantabile- follow the ABA pattern. The third starts with a -cadenza- by the soloist which includes thematic material from the previous slow movement linking straight up to the -Presto- which uses as its main idea a more forceful version of the opening melodic sketch of the -Allegro burlesco- converted into three time. The work was specially creatied for the violinist Gerard Claret and the Orquestra de Cambra Nacional d'Andorra. Recordings: Hermitage Orchestra-Camerata St. Petersburg, violin: Sergey Malov, conductor: Alexis Soriano. Ensayo (ENY-2003). Jordi Cervello

Comentarios del Espanol:
Concertino para violin y orquesta de cuerda es una obra compuesta en 1993. Se trata de una partitura amable y de cierto toque virtuosistico cuya principal preocupacion ha sido crear una atmosfera distendida en la que el solista y la orquesta puedan desplegar con espontaneidad sus capacidades tecnicas y expresivas. Es una obra de duracion similar a la de los conciertos del barroco y dividida en sus tres tipicos movimientos. Dos rapidos enmarcando uno lento. Los dos primeros -Allegro burlesco y Adagio cantabile- se desarrollan bajo el esquema ABA. El tercero inicia con una -cadenza- del solista que recoge material tematico del movimiento lento precedente para enlazar sin interrupcion con el -Presto- que utiliza como idea principal el dibujo melodico que abre el -Allegro burlesco-, pero mas decidido y a compas ternario. La obra fue compuesta expresamente para el violinista Gerard Claret y la Orquestra Nacional de Cambra d'Andorra. Grabaciones: Hermitage Orchestra-Camerata St. Petersburg, violin solista: Sergey Malov, direccion: Alexis Soriano. Ensayo (ENY-2003) Jordi Cervello.

SKU: HL.370494

ISBN 9781705147009. UPC: 840126994025.

The First String Quartet in C major, Op. 37, was written in the autumn of 1917 and earned Szymanowski the first prize in a competition organized by the Ministry of Religious and in a competition organized by the Ministry of Religious and Educational Affairs in January 1922. The First String Quartet is notable for its clar and simple construction. The first movement is in the formof a sonata allegro; the Andantino semplice (in modo iuna canzone) in the middle is a cross between ternary and variation form. The final Scherzando alla burlesca also keeps to the form of a sonata allegro. The combinations and proportions of formal factors and the treatment of thematic material betray a fairly conventional adoption of classical models. Similarly, the expressive and structural use of melodic material shows a respect for traditional norms. Szymanowski created, in other works from the same period, his own individual type of melodic line, which was strongly expressive and achieved its effect chiefly by its tonal qualieties; nevertheless in this Quartet he returns to a fluid, cantilena-like, symmetrically shaped melodic line, which runs along in broad phrases of a concentrated, reflective character. Melody becomes the chief factor in the development of the form, both in thematic usage and in the application of a more polyphonic texture. Harmonic and tonal means are considerably simplified in the Quartet []. Most of the writing is linear, or horizontal, with individual treatment of each part, the parallel continuation of the four sound planes, almost a matter of principle. The functions of the particular instruments in realizing these planes are constantly changing,which accounts for the even greater variedy of tone-colour. The decision to forego experiment with forms and sonorities is reflectedin the overall approach to musical expression. The predominant atmosphere of restrained emotion, quiet lyricism and serenity is strongly suggestive of classical aestetic models. (Based on Zofia Helman Commentary on Szymanowski Complete Edition, Vol. B6) (II) The ''Second String Quartet'' represents an interesting attempt to revert to classical form coupled with the new harmonic and tonal vocabulary worked out previously in the ''Slopiewnie'', ''Stabat Mater'' and ''Mazurkas''. It was also the first time the composer had used folk elements in the framework of a major classical form. The ''Second String Quartet'' is in a special category among Szymanowski's works. Though it dates from the composer was still occupied with folk music, it nevertheless shows him returning to classical models, but at the same time using an aesthetic of subjective expression, which gives the work its own individual stamp. The ''Second String Quartet'' synthesis of the various directions in which Szymanowski was attempting to develop. The sonority and texture used in the first.