Penderecki wrote music for string quartet over a period of 56 years. His String Quartet No. 1 was written in the same year that he achieved international success with Threnody (Naxos 8.554491), and includes a wide range of playing techniques reflective of the avant-garde. String Quartet No. 2 reveals the influence of Ligeti, while No. 3 is a personal, even autobiographical work. In No. 4 there are modal or even folk inflections, in writing that is both limpid and abrasive. The eventful Der unterbrochene Gedanke completes Penderecki’s music for quartet, while the String Trio exemplifies his music’s motoric energy.