Experience the rarely heard string quartets by Mieczysław Weinberg and Mark Nowakowski, along with the colorful impressionist work by Karol Szymanowski:
Mieczysław Weinberg:
String Quartet No 5
Mark Nowakowski:
String Quartet No 1 “Songs of Forgiveness”, mov 2
Karol Szymanowski:
String Quartet No 2
Weinberg’s output, tragically marked by a life under Soviet regime, was barely recognized during composer’s lifetime (1919-1996) but experienced a blossoming revival after his death. His chamber music is completely original, although somewhat akin to that of Shostakovich, who made a great impression on young Weinberg when they met in Moscow. Mark Nowakowski is a living composer, currently a professor at Kent University, with whom Axiom Quartet was delighted to make contact. Nowakowski’s String Quartet No. 1 “Songs of Forgiveness” is somber and eerie, full of deep emotional reflection rooted deeply in the memories of WW2. Finally, String Quartet 2 by Szymanowski, originally written for a chamber music competition in Philadelphia in 1927, is considered one of his most avant-garde compositions. Full of impressionist and modernist colors, it also uses the Polish Highlander folklore, with quotations from a well-known song of the Polish Tatra mountains.
This varied program full of musical discoveries is generously sponsored by Consulate General of Poland and hosted by Holocaust Museum Houston.
This program is free, but registration is necessary.
