Remembering
This Friday on Remembrance Day, the SBSQ is lucky to be able to be involved in the Collège Notre Dame’s ceremony. We will be performing the unique and compelling String Quartet by Witold Lutoslawski. While we perform, there will be a slide show of images from conflicts, past and present.
Having lived through both World Wars, Lutoslawski’s life was profounding affected by war. During the second World War, he was captured by German soldiers and almost ended up in a Nazi prison camp, however he managed to escape and walk 400kms back to Warsaw. This quartet was written during a war as well, the Cold War. Though one can never know exactly the mind of the composer, his artistic voice was undoubtedly influenced by witnessing and being involved in these conflicts. The distintive soundscapes that he creates in this work can be quite intense, and at times it would be easy to imagine screaming missiles and the roar of gunfire.
This will be the first time we perform the Lutoslawski String Quartet at a Remembrance Day ceremony; I am very interested to see how this context will affect the experience of this work.