Witold Maliszewski (1873-1939) was born in the town of Mohyliv-Podilskyi, then part of Russian Poland now located in Ukraine. His initial studies were at the Imperial Conservatory in Tiflis (now Tbilisi) with Mikhail Ivanov-Ippolitov. He then attended the St. Petersburg Conservatory where he studied with Rimsky-Korsakov and Glazunov. In 1908, he obtained the position of conductor of the Odessa Symphony Orchestra. He was active in Odessa until 1920 and was a founder and first director of the Odessa Conservatory. Due to the Russian Revolution, he moved to Warsaw in 1920 where he held several positions, including Professor of Composition at the Warsaw Conservatory. He composed in most genres and his chamber music was held in particularly high regard, winning several competition prizes.
His String Quartet No.1 in F Major, Op.2 dates from 1903. The opening movement, Moderato, has for its main theme a rather moving elegaic melody and the conclusion of the movement is particularly effective. The jovial Scherzo, allegro vivo, which comes next, plays well and is original sounding. The Andante con moto is full of Slavic charm. The finale, Allegro, is another very effective movement with a magnificent fugue in the middle.
This is quite an appealing work, with fine string writing for all of the voices, many tuneful melodies and original touches. It has been out of print for more than a century. Certainly it should not be missed by amateurs but professionals can count on it being a success in the concert hall where it is sure to be well received.
