String quartet no.3 (2007)/ Henryk Górecki

Opname: 2005.\n"Commissioned by the Kronos Quartet, this is the latest product of a relationship that also gave birth to the first two quartets. The background to No.3 is particularly intriguing; commissioned in 1992, it would be 13 years before it was finally delivered, in 2005. Incredibly, Gorecki had finished the work in 1995. Whatever the reason, it has been worth the wait. The works inspiration came from a poem by Velimir Khlebnikov: 'When horses die, they breathe/When grasses die, they wither/When suns die, they go out/When people die, they sing songs'. Whilst the slow, mournful music fully articulates the weight of death and grief, instead of being catapulted into corresponding misery, it has the surprising effect of throwing the listener into a state of contemplation, reverie and even hope. Fans of Gorecki will be familiar with the rocking motifs, and the juxtaposition of dissonance and consonance. Kronos' interpretation is perfectly judged, and conjures up an eerie, absorbing sound world." (Charlotte Gardner, BBC)