The New York Times
Saturday, October 16th, 1993

Penderecki Quartet
By Alex Ross

Kosciuszko Foundation

String quartets seldom take their names from living composers; more often they pay homage to established figures of the past. So it might seem a bit presumptive for Krzysztof Penderecki to have a quartet names after himself. Mr. Penderecki has led a somewhat uncertain career after occupying the vanguard of the experimental Polish school of the late 1950's and 60's. He has written sprawling quasi-Mahlerian symphonies and stylistically jumbles stage works. He is not well known for his chamber music.

But the Penderecki Quartet -- Jerzy Kaplanek and Piotr Buczek, violinists; Yariv Aloni, violist, and Paul Pulford, cellist -- happens to be a fine ensemble, technically solid and musically accomplished. Its program on Sunday afternoon included a cleanly articulated, warm-tones rendition of the Mozart Quartet in G (K.387) and an expansive, Beethovenian treatment of the Mendelssohn Quartet in A minor (op.13).

The afternoon's Penderecki factor was a recent String Trio, receiving its North American premiere. The two-movement work began with a set of cadenzas separated by rapid, dissonant declamations for all three players, a pattern reminiscent less of early Penderecki than of Witold Lutoslawski. The style was Modernist in orientation, even Bartokian at times, tightly structured but curiously anonymous. Mr. Penderecki himself was on hand and said some words after the vigorous expert performance by Mr. Buczek, Mr. Aloni and Mr. Pulford.

Chamber concerts last season at the Kosciuszko Foundation were marred by noise from East 85th Street below. The foundation has now installed some quite effective sound barriers, although Sunday's concert faced tough competition from a deafening Columbus Day parade.

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