Ten Classical Pieces You Don't Care About (Yet): #9

     

            Why should you care about “Concerto for String Orchestra” or its composer, Grazyna Bacewicz? After graduating from Warsaw Conservatory in 1932, she moved to the earth’s surface (Paris) to study composition with the sun (Nadia Boulanger). “Concerto for String Orchestra” (1948), written after her return to Poland, is typical of Bacewicz’s music: muscular, vigorous rhythms coupled with neo-classical clarity. The opening theme of the piece (one of three interconnected themes) sets a strident tone, while the next two are charming. However, the expressive strings and the “seductive ostinato” in the second movement convince us that Bacewicz’s heart beats for adagios:

        There’s a reason this piece won the Polish State Prize in 1950: as Poland recovered from WWII, the “Concerto”s clear-cut lines and skipping, optimistic feeling were felt as succor. Can you feel it in the beginning of the third movement (Vivo)?

        While the second movement combines various string effects for a shimmering texture, the third sticks to the tried-and-true method of ‘stuff I learned in Paris.’ The “Concerto” succeeds because it “strikes a persuasive balance between expressive weight and deftness of touch” (Adrian Thomas); such a distinguished piece proves that there are composers who fly under the radar.