Tippett Quartet, Penderecki: Complete Music for String Quartet and String Trio Review

The Tippett Quartet has been delighting critics and audiences for over a decade and a half. Their virtuosic performances and attractive programming have been heard at BBC Proms, Cheltenham Festival, Snape Proms, and numerous festivals throughout the UK and abroad, including tours of Europe, Canada, and Mexico. The quartet regularly appears at Kings Place, Purcell Room, Wigmore Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall, and Bridgewater Hall and frequently performs on BBC Radio 3. Alongside a busy touring schedule, the Tippett Quartet pursued a keen interest in educational work with schools and universities. It was Ensemble in Residence at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge University for 2012-13. In September 2015, they began an exciting new residency at Royal Holloway University, London. The Tippett Quartet is John Mills on violin, Jeremy Isaac on violin, Lydia Lowndes-Northcott on viola, and Bozidar Vukotic on cello. With a diverse repertoire and unique versatility, they are just as much in demand with the giants of the classical world as they are with great Hollywood composers. Their impressive catalog of over twenty releases has topped the classical charts, entered the pop charts, and received universal critical acclaim. They have recorded for Naxos, EMI Classics, Signum, Classic FM, Guild, Real World, Dutton Epoch, and Tocatta Classics. The quartet has given numerous world and UK premieres, including works by John Adams, Howard Goodall, and Stephen Dodgson. 2013 saw them rediscover Gustav Holst’s Fantasy on British Folk Songs, which, with the help of the eminent musicologist Roderick Swanston, they were able to complete and give a world premiere on BBC Radio 3. They have also worked with Peter Maxwell-Davies for a performance of his 9th quartet at the South Bank, with Anthony Payne on his Quartet No.1 for a live BBC broadcast from Spitalfields Festival, and Hugh Wood on his String Quartet No.3 at the Presteigne Festival. The Tippett Quartet is now releasing works by the Polish composer Krzysztof Penderecki titled Penderecki: Complete Music for String Quartet and String Trio.

Bottom Line:  Penderecki: Complete Music for String Quartet and String Trio is a broad picture of the power of Penderecki’s compositional style. His First String Quartet was written in 1960 and premiered in Cincinnati on May 23, 1962. This was while he was still building a reputation as a leading avant-garde composer. The Fourth String Quartet was premiered on December 11, 2016, at Wigmore Hall in London. The extensive period that these works cover gives a clear picture of the development and refinement of Penderecki’s style as a composer. With over fifty-six years of writing for the string quartet, Penderecki’s composing incorporated a wide range of playing techniques, modal colors, and even abrasive textures. “String Quartet No. 1” features an array of percussive attacks on the instrument with hands, bows, and pizzicato. The sound texture grows in intensity and adds more and more pitch colors. The use of harmonics in the latter section is both beautiful and jarring. The Tippett Quartet’s cohesive performance is balanced and intensely energetic. “String Trio: II. Vivace” has an opening motif that is melodic and serves as an anchor for a delightful exploration of harmonic colors and counterpoint. The importance of rhythmic drive and consistency is still relevant in Penderecki’s work in this middle period. “String quartet No. 4: II. Vivo” is the last work for the string quartet by the composer and features a strong modal influence and folk melody structure as the foundation for his dense counterpoint. The Tippett Quartet’s seamless phrasing and balanced contrapuntal playing is the highlight of this selection. Overall, Penderecki: Complete Music for String Quartet and String Trio is a beautiful documentation of Penderecki’s string writing. Classical music lovers have to make shelf space for such an inspiring and genuinely musical interpretation, as heard on this recording. Penderecki: Complete Music for String Quartet and String Trio is worth hearing, and that’s the short of it!

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