Five Preludes for string quartet and piano (1966–1967)
The odd-numbered preludes, marked a piacere (at pleasure), allow the performers to loosen the strict rules of metre and rhythm. Although they are notated in the metre of 4/4 and have specific metronomic values defined by the composer, the fairly rarefied texture and the passing of musical phrases between instruments, as if in a dialogue, make it possible to overcome the “pressure” of the bar line and spin the musical tale quite freely. The unique lyricism of these pieces was complemented by the marking misterioso in the piano part in Prelude V (it should be noted that Mycielski was rather reluctant to introduce such instructions for performers).
The even-numbered preludes, in which the performers are to abide by the rules of metre and rhythm, are characterised by textural density, independence of the melodic planes of the various instruments and mutual counterpointing of voices. The composer introduces polymetric solutions, successively changing the metre and using irregular compound bars (Prelude IV: 10/8, 5/8, 10/8, 4+5+4/8, 10/8, 4/8, 10/8, 4+3+4/8 etc.).
The composition was dedicated to Nadia Boulanger on her 80th birthday. After the Polish premiere of the piece, in October 1967, Mycielski noted in his diary:
In Warsaw I went to a rehearsal and concert during which they performed my Five Preludes for string quartet with piano [...]. These very intimate, delicate pieces were included in a concert of Polish-Soviet music to mark the 50th anniversary of the Great October Revolution, alongside Shostakovich, Khachaturian and Prokofiev. My Preludes ‘carry the musical content’, they are pensive, melodious and lyrical. Especially the three slow ones. Several young people approached me, as if surprised that my music was so different from everything written today. [...] I’m in no doubt that these small preludes contain more music than the dozens of pieces performed at our autumn festival (Zygmunt Mycielski, Dziennik 1960–1969, Iskry, Warsaw 2001, p. 527–528).