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String Quartets
Udo Agnesens - Stephan Thelen

String Quartets

Al Pari Quartet

Label: Fineline
Format: CD
Barcode: 0608917243222
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Catalog number: FL 72432
Releasedate: 03-10-25
- Three internationally acclaimed composers—Stephan Thelen, Gebhard Ullmann, and Udo Agnesens—present brand-new works that redefine the boundaries of the string quartet format. Their contrasting styles offer a rich, multidimensional listening experience.
- The award-winning Al Pari Quartet—formed by top graduates of the Karol Szymanowski Academy—bring virtuosity and deep interpretive understanding to these technically demanding and emotionally complex works.
- Appealing to fans of modern classical, avant-garde, progressive rock, and jazz, this album transcends genre boundaries and speaks to adventurous ears across musical landscapes.

A Sonic Dialogue Across Borders and Disciplines
String Quartets brings together three visionary composers—Stephan Thelen, Gebhard Ullmann, and Udo Agnesens—in a compelling exploration of contemporary string quartet writing. Performed with striking intensity and nuance by the Al Pari Quartet, this album spans a landscape of sonic textures, rhythmic complexity, and deeply personal expression.

The Composers & Works
Stephan Thelen contributes two powerful pieces—"Urgent Call" and "Continuum in 9"—bridging minimalist structure and progressive rock energy. Drawing from his background as a mathematician and founder of the band Sonar, Thelen’s music embraces polyrhythmic layering and mathematical precision while retaining an almost visceral emotional charge. “Urgent Call” is a driving invocation of Thelen’s sonic ideals, while “Continuum in 9” melds crackling textures with electric urgency, breaking boundaries between concert hall and rock stage.

Gebhard Ullmann’s String Quartet No. 1 unfolds as a meditative, melodic journey across movements that shimmer with emotional clarity. A prominent jazz saxophonist and clarinetist, Ullmann here turns to composition as a space of reflection. His quartet opens with ethereal sul tasto textures and builds into complex interrelations of melody, memory, and transformation. Inspired by themes from his own creative archives, Ullmann’s music resonates with a sense of transience and transcendence.

Udo Agnesens, represented by String Quartet No. 23, offers the most introspective contribution. Though a prolific composer with over 30 quartets to his name, Agnesens often writes without seeking performance—his focus lies in creation over dissemination. The 23rd quartet is marked by a solemn pace and emotional depth, demanding immense control from the performers. It draws listeners inward, revealing its subtle beauty through patience and restraint. “If you don’t have the time to really listen to the music,” he says, “maybe you should be doing something else”.

The Al Pari Quartet
Founded in 2017 by students of the Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music in Katowice, the Al Pari Quartet—Dominik Kossakowski (violin), Alicja Miruk-Mirska (violin), Wiktoria Trzebowska (viola), and Elżbieta Rychwalska-Dobrowolska (cello)—has become a formidable force in contemporary chamber music. Their work on this recording demonstrates not only technical mastery but deep interpretive insight. They deliver each composition with clarity, warmth, and expressive sensitivity, bridging the complex rhythmic structures and emotional demands of each piece.