Music for string instruments represents the bulk of Bacewicz's huge composing output and includes two sonatas for solo violin, five sonatas for violin and piano and a number of other works for violin, and her violin miniatures, such as Polish Capriccio and Oberek are played by young violinists all over the world. On top of that, Bacewicz wrote seven violin concertos - a record high number in our times - as well as the Concerto for Viola and Orchestra and two cello concertos. She was most prolific, however, as a composer of chamber music, where her achievement includes seven string quartets, two quintets for piano and strings, the Quartet for Four Violins, the Quartet for Four Cellos and other works.
A talented violinist, Bacewicz knew how to write for string instruments to produce music which would impress and be comfortable to play; a gifted composer, she was able to write captivatingly. As a result, her compositions are attractive both to musicians and the audiences, and her string quartets - with the String Quartet No. 4 in the forefront - are particularly popular.
In 1951 the Polish Composers' Union asked Bacewicz for a work of music for the Concours International pour Quatuor à Cordes in Liège. The String Quartet No. 4 she wrote was performed by the Quatuor Municipal de Liège on 21st September 1951, winning the first prize. The success acquired an almost political significance, received a lot of press coverage and earned Bacewicz the Polish State Award of 2nd degree the following year.
The Polish audience could first hear the Quartet at the Polskie Wydawnictwo Muzyczne inaugural concert in Cracow on 3rd October 1951. This was followed by the inclusion of the work (performed by France's Quatuor Parrenin) in the programme of the 1st Warsaw Autumn Contemporary Music Festival - a testimony of the appreciation for the Quartet by the Polish music circles.
The String Quartet No. 4 is a three-movement work, neoclassical in style, with evident influences of Polish folk music, though some musicologists can hear Spanish borrowings in the second theme of the first movement, Allegro molto. Anyway, its two-themed structure resembles the classical sonata allegro form. Andante, the second movement, is classically slow, melodious and folksy, while the third movement, Allegro giocoso, brings an expressive contrast and is a lively rondo with an oberka as the refrain.
This is how the Belgian press commented on the Quartet after its success:
"The language of the 'Quartet' is more classical than those of the other quartets performed during the same audition. Its melody is fuller and, one could say, more tradition-oriented. The elegiac introduction is followed by fantastic themes that soon mingle with other musical thoughts, and breathing becomes faster. The slow movement attains a level which one cannot notice in any other quartets. This quiet meditation and logically constructed fugato reveal extraordinary mental qualities and a truly musical temper. Again, it is Beethoven that comes to mind, this time from his last quartets, especially in Rondo, where a Polish folk dance intertwines with episodes of a reflexive nature" (Marcel Lamaire, "Le Monde du travail", 3rd October 1951).
Prepared by Polish Music Information Center, Polish Composers' Union, December 2001.