Ukrainische Skizzen op. 27

"Ukrainian Sketches", written in 1941, is the last surviving work by the Polish-Ukrainian composer Józef Koffler. Originally a follower of the Second Viennese School, Koffler, himself a professor and functionary in Soviet Ukraine, had to change his style in the face of enormous political pressure. Despite the harsh circumstances, these six miniatures for string quartet are free of all kitsch of 'socialist realism' and radiate an independent expressiveness and immediate lyricism in the interweaving of Eastern European folklore and the classical string quartet tradition.