The three string quartets by the late Henryk Mikołaj Górecki, who died last November at the age of 78, have been released as a 2 CD-box by Hyperion Records in the UK.

They were recorded by the Warsaw-based Royal String Quartet which in recent years gained a reputation as one of the world’s most interesting and dynamically developing string quartets of the young generation. 

All of Górecki’s quartets were commissioned and premiered by the Kronos Quartet from San Francisco.

They are subtitled Already it is Dusk (String Quartet No. 1, 1988),  Quasi una fantasia (No.2, 1991), and Songs are sung (No.3, 1995-2005). 

This is the second Hyperion  recording of the Royal String Quartet, following their release of quartets by Polish composers Karol Szymanowski and Ludomir Rożycki. (mk)