String Quartet No. 3 derives from a tune sung by Nadia who is looking for her mother. She cannot find her, even though she is looking everywhere. The composition was written in 2019/2020, commissioned by the Royal String Quartet. Aleksander Nowak String Quartet No. 4 written in 2022 was commissioned by the Royal String Quartet and is dedicated to the ensemble. Paweł Mykietyn The piece Magenta [2021] is a kind of reflection on the historical form of the string quartet. In it we can hear both classical and contemporary playing techniques. Sound samples accompanying the instruments come from a variety of sources and times. For example, we can hear a fragment of Ludwig van Beethoven’s String Quartet No. 1, recorded in 1921. All these heterogeneous snippets from different traditions and styles are combined in carefully composed colourful structures. The eponymous ‘magenta’ is both a verbal logotype and one of the basic colours in the synthesis of colours. Sławomir Wojciechowski Works of art always function in contexts: of their own genre, its tradition, the composer’s work or the accepted aesthetics of the time. In the case of these three compositions, also in the context of the Kwartesencja festival, where they were first performed. The world’s history also adds an extra bit to it: Aleksander Nowak’s Quartet No. 3 was written before the conflict in Ukraine, which has been smouldering since 2014, broke into our consciousness once again. The composer’s commentary becomes even more moving in the contemporary context. The three quartets – written for the same ensemble and compiled on one disc – also interact with one other. The pieces can be listened to in any order; by doing so, they are sure to reveal new meanings. Adam Suprynowicz
