Karłowicz Recomposed

About the album

"Karłowicz Recomposed" is a highly unusual album in our discography. When we thought about how it should sound, we decided to go for contrast: a jazz string quartet, we felt, would sound intriguing in combination with a classical reed quartet. On the one hand we would achieve a colour close to the symphonic; on the other we would not give up the chamber character in which every voice matters equally. The sound possibilities this octet offered proved very inspiring. The colours of flute, oboe, clarinet and bassoon allowed us many creative innovations, both while preparing the arrangements and later, in interpreting them. This combination of instruments let us enrich the sound of our music with an entirely new palette.

Since the beginning of the quartet we have tried to avoid performing classical works written with string instruments in mind, works with a performance tradition established over many years. When we do reach for classical repertoire, it is usually music composed for other instruments — the piano (Witold Lutosławski's Two Etudes) or wind instruments (Krzysztof Penderecki's Prelude for solo clarinet or Capriccio for solo tuba). Over the years we have noticed that, given the whole catalogue to choose from, we most readily reach for pieces written for small forces. Arranging a solo or duo work for our group gives us the comfort of enriching the original material with new sound elements, which seems to us more interesting than "transcribing" a symphony or another large work for a chamber ensemble. Looking at Mieczysław Karłowicz's output from this angle, the Songs seemed the most natural choice.

In writing the arrangements we tried to find inspiration not only in the music but also in the texts — which, of necessity, are absent here. Yet we tried to convey the longing, the reflection, the sadness, the nostalgia; to paint the sound of the sea and the mountain motifs so dear to Karłowicz. All of this you will find in our interpretations.

Our warm thanks go to Dorota Serwa, Director of the Mieczysław Karłowicz Philharmonic in Szczecin, for inviting us to work together on this recording. For many years the building on Małopolska Street has felt like home to us. It is here that we have fulfilled many of our artistic dreams, and here that we always return with pleasure. We are proud that our long collaboration and friendship have borne fruit in this exceptional album. We hope that more shared, equally exciting projects lie ahead!

Atom String Quartet