Wholenote Magazine
September 06

How I'd like to spend my summer
By David Olds

The Penderecki String Quartet will release its recording of Bartók's six string quartets in September and in doing so will, to the best of my knowledge, become the first Canadian ensemble to record this important cycle in its entirety. I've actually been "holding my breath" about this one since last March when the PSQ performed at Music Toronto.

Although the two disc set (Eclectra ECCD-2075) was on sale at that performance, I was told that the official launch would not be until September and was asked to hold off on mentioning it in print. I had the pleasure of hearing the PSQ performance of the six quartets in two concerts for the Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber Music Society a couple of years ago and was very impressed with the way they had made these seminal works "their own". I was particularly taken with how the newest member of the group, cellist Simon Fryer, blended with violist Christine Vlajk in some of the quasi-unison passages.

The quartet has undergone a number of personnel changes since moving to Canada from Poland in the late 1980s, most recently the replacement of cellist Paul Pulford, who was the first Canadian to join the group and was a mainstay throughout much of its 20 year history. The Bartók cycle provides a bridge between old and new with Pulford featured on the first four quartets and Fryer on the final two.

The set also incorporates one of the signature traits of the group, with violinists Jerzy Kaplanek and Jeremy Bell taking turns in the "first" chair. One might think these changes might lead to a less than cohesive whole, but this is not the case. The group's ensemble work is seamless and there is a wonderful consistency of sound.

Mastering the Bartók cycle has become one of the benchmarks by which quartets are measured and I'm pleased to say that with this recording the PSQ has confirmed its position as one of the finest ensembles around today.

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