Record Reviews

ATOM ACCORDION QUINTET ~ ATOM ACCORDION QUINTET REQUIEM 120 (Barcode: 5902547013411) ~ POLAND ~ Classical Recorded: 2015 Released: 2016 This is the debut album by Polish ensemble Atom Accordion QuintetFind albums by this artist, which comprises of accordionist Rafal GrzakaFind albums by this artist and the renowned string quartet called Atom String QuartetFind albums by this artist (violinists Dawid LubowiczFind albums by this artist and Mateusz SmoczynskiFind albums by this artist, violist Michal ZaborskiFind albums by this artist and cellist Krzysztof LenczowskiFind albums by this artist). Together they perform four contemporary Classical compositions by young Polish composers: Mikolaj MajkusiakFind albums by this artist, Piotr WrobelFind albums by this artist, Krzysztof Lenczowski and Nikola KolodziejczykFind albums by this artist. While the works by the Majkusiak and Wrobel are single-piece compositions, the work by Lenczowski is a four-part Quintet and the work by Kolodziejczyk is three-part suite. The album was released simultaneously on two Polish labels: RequiemFind albums on this label Records and DUXFind albums on this label Records As much as I appreciate the need to expose young composers, which this album is all about, somehow I felt a bit disappointed when the music was over. Contemporary Classical music can be, and often is challenging and groundbreaking but this album has little of these qualities. The sound of accordion and a string quartet works together well but was already explored before, and although the musicians are top class, but the music itself just fails to make a strong impression. Even the music by Lenczowski, who writes wonderful music in the Jazz idiom, somehow does not present his usual excellence here, being simply too conventional, even if it is beautifully melodic and gracefully melancholic. An example of the lack of originality is the very last track on this album (by Kolodziejczyk), which sounds almost exactly like music by Astor PiazzollaFind albums by this artist with string quartet. Somehow the entire album invokes a kind of a déjà vu symptom. The album is supposed to offer, according to the enclosed booklet, an amalgam of Classical Music, Folklore and Jazz. There is Classical music in abundance, there are some Folkloristic motifs, but there is certainly no Jazz at all, as there is obviously no improvisation involved since all the music is strictly written. This of course is not a problem by itself, but simply an unnecessary confusion. Obviously the album has its positive sides as well: a profound European aesthetics, wonderful performances by all five musicians, who are obviously virtuosic players, an excellent recording and sound quality and elegant packaging that includes informative bilingual liner notes. Overall this is a well done and original presentation of contemporary Polish Classical Music, which can be enjoyed by many Classical Music connoisseurs anywhere in the world and serve as a wonderful calling card of Polish Culture.

Updated: 22/11/2016Posted: 22/11/2016

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CUP OF TIME ~ MODERN TANGOS REQUIEM / LYDIAN 2020/15 (Barcode: 5906874951354) ~ POLAND ~ Classical Recorded: 2020 Released: 2020 This is an album by Polish quartet Cup Of TimeFind albums by this artist, comprising of four classically trained musicians: flautist Ryszard BorowskiFind albums by this artist, violinist Agnieszka CyprykFind albums by this artist, accordionist Rafal GrzakaFind albums by this artist and cellist Krzysztof LenczowskiFind albums by this artist. This time the quartet picked the Tango as the theme of their album, and presents lesser known facets of the passionate Argentinean dance, mostly taken from Classical music, composed by the Czech / Jewish composer Erwin SchulhoffFind albums by this artist, who died in a Nazi concentration camp, French composer Charles-Camille Saint-SaensFind albums by this artist, Russian composer Igor StravinskyFind albums by this artist, Czech composer Bohuslav MartinuFind albums by this artist and Argentinean composer Alberto GinasteraFind albums by this artist. In addition, one piece composed by the American Jazz pianist / composer / arranger / bandleader Gil EvansFind albums by this artist and another one composed by Borowski are also included. Many Tango lovers will be obviously surprised by these glimpses of their favorite music appearing in such broad spectrum of chameleonic exposures, often very different to what is usually taken for granted when Tango comes to mind. And since broadening one’s horizons is always something people should strive to do, listening to this album can be quite educational, as well as enjoyable. Of course the music is highly professionally performed, and offers a broad spectrum of modern Classical Music, which is relatively little known to most listeners. Although I find the albums by Cup Of Time a bit of a hit-and-miss sometime, this one is definitely worth exploring and offers many nice surprises, and as such welcome and recommended!

Updated: 03/03/2022Posted: 18/04/2021

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CUP OF TIME ~ PLAYS NAMYSLOWSKI DUX 1101 (Barcode: 5902547011011) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz-Classical Fusion Recorded: 2013 Released: 2014 This album by Polish ensemble Cup Of TimeFind albums by this artist, which comprises of four classically trained musicians: flautist Ryszard BorowskiFind albums by this artist, violinist Agnieszka CyprykFind albums by this artist, accordionist Rafal GrzakaFind albums by this artist and cellist Krzysztof LenczowskiFind albums by this artist (of the Atom String QuartetFind albums by this artist fame), is a tribute to one of the Godfathers of Polish Jazz, saxophonist / composer Zbigniew NamyslowskiFind albums by this artist. The ensemble, founded in 2008, is associated with the Jazz-Classical Fusion, or what they describe (incorrectly of course) as "third stream", which tries to incorporate classical music approach with Jazz compositions, but is involved with other types of music as well. This album presents thirteen compositions, eight of which are by Namyslowski, including some of his iconic tunes, representing his career over time. Of the five additional compositions, two are folk tunes, one is composed by Polish composer Grazyna BacewiczFind albums by this artist and the remaining are one each by Lenczowski and Borowski. Namyslowski himself plays saxophone on those five tunes, which are not his compositions, transforming the quartet into a quintet. Although personally I´m quite fond of Jazz-Classical projects, this one sadly falls into the category of good ideas that eventually simply fail to deliver. It is difficult to pinpoint exactly why, but the beautiful music of Namyslowski, which is magical in the Jazz environment, loses most of its magic and charm when transformed into seemingly elegant and polished classical setting. This newly created version of the music simply lacks the essential qualities which characterize Jazz, even when combined with other musical genres, the most important of which is of course swing. This music simply does not swing at all, and if it ain´t got that swing… Of course the quartet members are all first rate musicians and the album is well recorded, but even Namyslowski´s saxophone parts, which are wonderfully played as usual, don´t manage to break the spell of estrangement and certain sterility that dominates these proceedings. Even a glass of red wine did not help – this music, as far as I am concerned, if not fun to listen to nor is it intellectually challenging enough to be enjoyable. But of course other listeners might think differently.

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