Laks: String Quartet No.2 Messages Quartet

• Szymon Laks (1901 - 1983): String Quartet No. 2:
• 1 Laks: String Quartet No. 2: I. Allegro moderato 04:06
• 2 Laks: String Quartet No. 2: II. Larghetto 05:45
• 3 Laks: String Quartet No. 2: III. Quasi presto 03:51
• Total Runtime 13:42

Info for Laks: String Quartet No.2

String Quartet No. 2 (1932) by the Polish-Jewish composer Szymon Laks (1901–1983) was considered completely lost for nearly a century, until it was recently rediscovered in Paris.

The discovery also solved a musicological puzzle. Believing his second string quartet to be lost forever, Laks "recycled" significant portions of the work after the Second World War for his fourth string quartet (1962). The entire first movement, as well as parts of the third movement of the fourth quartet, are derived directly from this rediscovered early work from 1932.

Messages Quartet:
Małgorzata Wasiucionek, violin
Oriana Masternak, violin
Maria Dutka, viola
Beata Urbanek-Kalinowska, cello

Messages Quartet
hailed by critics as “one of the finest Polish string quartets today”, was founded in 2014. Merely a year later, it garnered the Second Prize, Silver Medal, and Special Prize for its interpretation of Dmitri Shostakovich’s quartet in the 2nd International Chamber Music Competition in Plovdiv (Bulgaria, October 2015). Since that pivotal moment, the ensemble has maintained a steady schedule of performances both in Poland and internationally, gracing audiences in cities such as Vienna, London, Sao Paulo, Bautzen, San Francisco, and Moscow.

Messages Quartet’s focal point lies in Polish music, particularly in the realm of lesser-known and contemporary compositions, for which their interpretations have garnered multiple awards and acclaim. In 2016, the ensemble was honoured as a recipient of the “Young Poland” Scholarship Programme. This accolade facilitated the release of their debut album featuring string quartets by Szymon Laks, published by the DUX record label. The album received outstanding reviews in French, German, British, American, and Polish press. In 2019, the ensemble released its second album titled Messages, also on the DUX label, with music by Moniuszko, Panufnik and Penderecki. The album De invitatione mortis by Andrzej Karałow, featuring the Quartet, was nominated for the 2021 Fryderyk award. Another significant recording by the ensemble is a disc comprising piano quintets by Grażyna Bacewicz and Alexandre Tansman, made in 2021 in collaboration with pianist Julia Kociuban. This recording was nominated for the 2021 Fryderyk award and was honoured with the Musical Eagle in 2022 for the best chamber ensemble. Messages Quartet was further distinguished with a nomination for the Coryphaeus of Polish Music award in the “Personality of the Year” category in 2023.

The repertoire of Messages Quartet encompasses works by Polish composers such as Laks, Panufnik, Penderecki, Weinberg, Szymanowski, Moniuszko, Tansman, and Bacewicz, as well as masterpieces of the world chamber music canon. The ensemble has also premiered numerous works, both by Polish and international composers. On several occasions, the Quartet has showcased its versatile and innovative repertoire as part of a chamber music concert series organised by the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra in Katowice. The musicians have also collaborated with the Department of Composition of the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw. In 2023, as part of its residency at the Imago Dei Festival in Austria, Messages Quartet presented Polish music during a series of concerts, earning acclaim as a “discovery for audiences and music critics”.

In addition to their concert activities, the artists of Messages Quartet serve as lecturers at the Academy of Music in Katowice and Krakow. They have received prizes and distinctions in international solo and chamber music competitions and are recipients of scholarships from the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, as well as other institutions supporting artists worldwide.

What distinguishes Messages Quartet, as emphasised by critics, is its unique sound. In their interpretations, the ensemble places emphasis on homogeneity arising from the four artistic individualities, seeking new meanings in music. By engaging in a dialogue with the audience, they convey art that is living, emotional and grounded in the present day.

This album contains no booklet.