This here is a continuation of a thread from the old forum (http://www.good-music-guide.com/forum/index.php/topic,13129.0.html).
I thought I'd bring it over to the new forum, because two of the composers mentioned there have got their anniversaries this year. It's 200 years since Ignacy Feliks Dobrzynski's birth, and 150 years since Karol Kurpinski's death. Sadly, here in Poland neither of these anniversaries is given the attention it deserves. The National Opera in Warsaw is going to give a concert performance of Kurpinski's concert pieces much later this year. One wonders whatever happened to the operas?
Please feel free to mention and discuss in this thread any of the lesser known Polish composers who lived and worked before 1945.
Maciek
[Edit:]
And here's a link to the new Little-known Polish composers from 1945 on (http://www.good-music-guide.com/community/index.php/topic,50.msg464.html) thread.
[Edit no. 2:]
Here are links to threads on this new forum dedicated to Polish composers who composed anything before 1945 (I'll be updating this list as new threads appear - let me know through this thread or PM me if I miss anything):
Zygmunt Stojowski (1870-1946) (http://www.good-music-guide.com/community/index.php/topic,7934.msg192943.html#msg192943)
Mieczyslaw Karlowicz (1876-1909) (http://www.good-music-guide.com/community/index.php/topic,2319.new.html)
Karol Szymanowski (1882-1937) (http://www.good-music-guide.com/community/index.php/topic,290.0.html)
Jozef Koffler (1896-1944?) (http://www.good-music-guide.com/community/index.php/topic,1302.0.html)
Tadeusz Szeligowski (1896-1963) (http://www.good-music-guide.com/community/index.php/topic,1477.html)
Aleksander Tansman (1897-1986) (http://www.good-music-guide.com/community/index.php/topic,3157.0.html)
Grazyna Bacewicz (1909-1969) (http://www.good-music-guide.com/community/index.php/topic,389.0.html)
Witold Lutoslawski (1913-1994) (http://www.good-music-guide.com/community/index.php/topic,211.0.html)
Andrzej Panufnik (1914-1991) (http://www.good-music-guide.com/community/index.php/topic,388.0.html)
Chopin Recordings (http://www.good-music-guide.com/community/index.php/topic,21.0.html)
Chopin's Mazurkas (http://www.good-music-guide.com/community/index.php/topic,1238.0.html)
Polish Art Song - Chopin, Moniuszko, Karlowicz, Szymanowski and others (http://www.good-music-guide.com/community/index.php/topic,237.0.html)
Halka by Stanislaw Moniuszko (http://www.good-music-guide.com/community/index.php/topic,213.0.html)
The Haunted Manor (Straszny dwor) by Stanislaw Moniuszko (http://www.good-music-guide.com/community/index.php/topic,337.0.html)
Even Less Known Operas by Stanislaw Moniuszko (http://www.good-music-guide.com/community/index.php/topic,387.0.html)
Paderewski's Manru (http://www.good-music-guide.com/community/index.php/topic,15.0.html)
Potentially Good News for Szymanowski fans (http://www.good-music-guide.com/community/index.php/topic,196.0.html)
Ludomir Rozycki - Eros and Psyche (http://www.good-music-guide.com/community/index.php/topic,2673.0.html)
Maciek, have you heard Gorecki's third string quartet? I saw that in the record store today (Kronos Quartet, just released).
I didn't know he had dabbled in that medium. Coincidentally, it's about the same length as his famous third symphony...
Quote from: Lilas Pastia on April 17, 2007, 05:30:39 PM
Maciek, have you heard Gorecki's third string quartet? I saw that in the record store today (Kronos Quartet, just released).
I didn't know he had dabbled in that medium. Coincidentally, it's about the same length as his famous third symphony...
Hi Andre
I asked the same question today.....He did not hear it yet....I heard it last week on contemporaryclassical.com. I was not that impressed. It just seemed to go on and on and on...I have owned his first two for a long time....I enjoy those two so, was looking forward to the third...I had talked with Maciek about the third about four months ago when on the Kronos site they mentioned that the third was being released soon...I probably need to hear it again to make a better call. I usually need more than one listen to make a intelligent decision.....Hope everyone is well.....Hopefully it will warm up soon
Robert
Thanks, Robert. Gorecki's armoury of musical tricks includes slow moving phrases that seem to circle each other rather aimlessly. I guess it demands repeated hearings, because the connection is harder to grasp than in other kinds of contemporary music.
Still snow on the ground, and near freezing teps here. The weekend should be nice though. Mr Weatherman forecasts 20 degrees. Can't wait.
Just dropped in to certify that what Robert said was true. :)
And to add that there's a thread dedicated solely to Gorecki here (http://www.good-music-guide.com/community/index.php/topic,279.0.html). :)
Maciek
I've added links to other related threads into my initial post. Please let me know if I missed anything or if I miss anything in the future.
Cheers,
Maciek
Some rarities for you to enjoy while I'm away (I'll be going on vacation next week):
A composer from the "Gurnian period" and one of his best known works (though no recordings on CD that I could find). He was a virtuoso violinist, Mozart dedicated his KV 470 to him. Spent a large part of his life in Britain where he died in 1848 (born in 1762 in Vilnius)
Feliks Janiewicz Violin Concerto No. 5 in E Minor
A wonderfully colourful orchestral piece from the early 20th century that reminds me of Dukas in many places. Outside Poland Nowowiejski is best known as a composer of organ works but here he's also famous for his songs (especially Rota which is a sort of national anthem) and orchestral pieces.
Feliks Nowowiejski "King of the Winds" Concert Overture op. 37
This guy has been mentioned in the old incarnation of this thread, so you can search him out there. Lessel was Haydn's pupil and the PC is one of his best known works.
Franciszek Lessel Piano Concerto in C Major
Here's yet another mp3 of Melcer's Piano Concerto No. 1 - I've posted this piece before (on the old forum) but sound wasn't very good. Here it's better (the performance is the same). This is, in my opinion, one of the forgotten masterpieces of the genre. Anyone who likes Paderewski's PC is bound to love this one too.
Henryk Melcer Piano Concerto No. 1 in E Minor
Carlos mentioned Paderewski's Violin Sonata a while back. There are in fact quite a few CD releases of this piece but here is a radio recording of an excellent performance that you won't get anywhere else ( 8)).
Ignacy Jan Paderewski Violin Sonata in A Minor
Here's a real treat! 2 pieces from Ludomir Rozycki, Szymanowski's contemporary. A wonderful 19th century composer who through some quirk of fate landed in the 20th century and thus became destined for obscurity (also, if we are to trust Rubinstein's memoirs, Rozycki wasn't the most pleasant of all people). There are precious little of his pieces available on CD. These two here you will not find anywhere else!
Ludomir Rozycki Piano Concerto in G Minor op. 43
Ludomir Rozycki Cello Sonata in A Minor op. 10
And finally, a little-known piece from Stojowski, whose Piano Concerto (in the Hyperion series) many on GMG enjoy. A cello and piano version of this has been released (with a lesser known cellist) by Acte Préalable.
Zygmunt Stojowski Concertstüke in D Major for Cello and Orchestra Op. 31
Enjoy!
Maciek
A there's a generous helping of downloads on the other thread (http://www.good-music-guide.com/community/index.php/topic,50.msg31888.html#msg31888) as well. ;D
Remember to post your thoughts on what you hear! ;D
Maciek
Stumbled upon this very interesting site today:
Before Chopin (http://www.gresham.ac.uk/event.asp?PageId=39&EventId=396)
Maciek
A very favorable review (http://www.good-music-guide.com/community/index.php/topic,9.msg48544.html#msg48544) by one of our most discerning listeners of some of the downloads offered on this (and the post-1945) thread has prompted me to write a few words about Feliks Nowowiejski. (The piece André liked is still available for download here (http://rapidshare.com/files/34929104/Nowowiejski_Feliks_Kr_l_Wichr_w___uwertura_koncertowa_op._37_WOSPR_Krzysztof_Dziewi_cki.mp3).)
(http://www.trubadur.pl/Biul_17/nowowiejski1.jpg)
I suppose the average Pole has never heard of Feliks Nowowiejski but I'd also venture a guess that there does not exist a single grownup Pole in the world who does not know one of the composers songs - Rota (1910). It was close to national anthem status for a while, and practically everyone knows at least the first few lines (the words are from a poem by Maria Konopnicka). Yet no one knows who wrote it, or perhaps even that it is not an anonymous composition.
As for recordings and performances, Nowowiejski remains known today only for his organ works. Though notoriously difficult to play they remain quite popular. Do a search on jpc or amazon - a couple of discs are bound to come up. Even I own one, and that's about 33% of my entire organ recordings collection!
He was quite popular in his time though, mostly for large scale vocal-orchestral works. Born in 1877, he won the Prix de Rome in 1902 for an oratorio titled The Return of the Prodigal Son (yes, just like Debussy) and a piece called Romantic Overture. Two years later he won the prize again, this time for two symphonies (apart from the two Roman prizes, he was awarded an impressive amount of other ones in his lifetime but I'm not going to list them here - too tedious ;D). He was already an accomplished musician at that time, having studied composition and the organ in Berlin. Until 1906 he continued studying in Regensburg (among his teachers was Max Bruch). The Roman Prize enabled (and required) him to travel around a bit - he visited France, Austria, Italy, Belgium, Bohemia, Africa, and Palestine. During these travels he met Anton Dvorak whose advice he is said to have valued very highly. Among the other composers he met then were Mahler, Saint-Saëns, Pietro Mascagni and Ruggero Leoncavallo.
He returned to Poland in 1909 and after a 10-year teaching and conducting career devoted himself entirely to composing. He had a notable conducting repertoire, it included music by Bruckner, Mahler, Beethoven, Brahms, Wagner and Palestrina! He was married and had 5 children. He died shortly after World War II, in January 1946.
During Nowowiejski's lifetime his most famous work was the oratorio Quo vadis, based on the famous novel by Henryk Sienkiewicz (the 1895 novel may have been the main reason Sienkiewicz received the Nobel Prize). It was apparently a very eclectic work: the chorus part was in the old fashioned style of Haydn and even Handel, while the orchestral part was very Wagner-like. It was premiered in Amsterdam in 1909 and had been performed in more than 150 cities in Europe and America (including Carnegie Hall in 1912). Today it is largely forgotten, it has not been released on CD or LP. His other oratorios also gained considerable fame in their time, though never really comparable to that of Quo vadis.
He was also a very successful opera composer (stylistically similar to Puccini, according to my sources). Yet, again, not even his most famous opera The Legend of the Baltic has been recorded (only a few arias) - though it has been staged 4 (only four!) times after World War II. His ballets (download of an overture available above :)) have not been staged after the war at all. His 4 mature symphonies (he had also written one unnumbered piece in that genre) are practically never performed. Sadly, he is a splendid but completely forgotten composer. This overture is a precious acquisition, you'd better apprecite that. ;)
Maciek
Thanks for this article, Maciek. From when does the ballet Overture date ? I was very much taken by its strong Janacek and Bruckner overtones. But I wonder if he knew Janacek ? In any case, he doesn't sound like a composer under influence. I wish his symphonies and esp. the whole ballet were recorded....
Quote from: Lilas Pastia on July 01, 2007, 03:49:53 PM
Thanks for this article, Maciek. From when does the ballet Overture date ? I was very much taken by its strong Janacek and Bruckner overtones. But I wonder if he knew Janacek ? In any case, he doesn't sound like a composer under influence. I wish his symphonies and esp. the whole ballet were recorded....
Sorry, forgot to mention that. Believe it or not, the ballet dates from 1929! It doesn't sound that late, isn't it? Well, maybe it does - just not cutting edge 1929. ;D I don't know if he knew Janacek, either in person or by music... Can't find any info on that, sorry.
His orchestral writing, at least in that Overture, is unlike anything written in Poland at that time - at least unlike anything I've heard. There was Szymanowski, of course - but they are universes apart. None of the less avantgarde composers however had this same sort of precise, clear instrumentation. Not even Ludomir Rozycki (who, it seems to me, was in some respects similar to Nowowiejski). I think there's something a bit "French" about this piece........?
Guido, here's something new especially for you (but others are allowed to donwload it too, I'm so noble! 0:)) - the Cello Concerto by Jan Maklakiewcz from 1929. The concerto is somehow based on the Liturgy of the Hours which should explain the titles of the first and final parts (Ad matutinum and Ad vesperas). The second part is an Intermezzo, the third - a Berceuse (apparently the composer slept the whole day). Performers are: Tomasz Strahl - cello, the Polish Radio National Symphony Orchestra (PRNSO or NOSPR in Polish) conducted by Slawek Wroblewski.
The file name proved to be too long for RapidShare, so it has cut off the extension. Therefore you have to add the ".mp3" extension after downloading (by renaming the file).
DownloadLink: http://rapidshare.com/files/43335016/Maklakiewicz_Jan_Cello_concerto__1929__Tomasz_Strahl_NOSPR_Slawek_Wroblewski_Ad_matutinum-Intermezzo
File-Size: 37,03 MB
Enjoy. 8)
Maciek
That's two pieces from 1929 we have now. Let's see if we can find one more... ;D
Thanks, Maciek (and Guido ;D). I downloaded it. Any reading material??
Hi, André!
First of all, I have to say that I was a bit disappointed with this Concerto. I had never heard anything by Maklakiewicz before and always wanted to (he went to my high school ;D). Perhaps my expectations were too high but I found the piece a bit boring on the first two listens. The "religious cello concerto" premise seemed interesting and there's lots of originality in the general concept (a sort of archaic musical style) but I simply couldn't connect with the music on an emotional level. I'm not giving up on it yet, though - I might re-listen again in a month or two.
A few words about the composer himself: Jan Adam Maklakiewicz was born in 1899, died in 1954. He was brought up in a musical family. Both his brothers (Franciszek b. 1915 and Tadeusz Wojciech b. 1922) became composers as well. Of the three, he is the one who eventually gained the best musical reputation but still you could hardly call him a famous composer. He studied both in Poland and abroad (with Paul Dukas!). He was a distinguished choir conductor, organist, and musical journalist before the war. After the war he was, among other posts, the director of the Warsaw Philharmonic - he oversaw the reviving of its choir and orchestra.
He may have been all in all a decent fellow but for me one nasty incident stands out in his biography: An infamous musicologists' and composers' conference was held in the town of Łagów in the autumn of 1949. During that event Włodzimierz Sokorski, the Polish Minister of Culture attacked "formalist" tendencies in Polish contemporary music and pointed towards "socialist realism" as the only proper style of composing. Essentially, he proclaimed the beginning of the socialist realism era in Polish music. Embarrassingly enough, Jan Maklakiewicz was one of the very few composers who joined in, attacking practically all of his colleagues.
But that's just an anecdote - I'm sure he was later sorry for acting like that. (Or maybe he wasn't? Consider his career in these years: 1945-47 director of the Cracow Philharmonic, 1947-48 director of the Warsaw Philharmonic, 1950-51 Dean of Composition, Theory and Conducting Department at the Warsaw Academy of Music).
You should also check the Wojciech Kilar thread - I've posted some files there too, including one of his newest pieces (not yet released on disc).
Cheers Maciek *Downloading*
Are we talking about the same Maklakiewcz concerto here?! :)
It's so beautiful! Almost too focussed on this aspect... it might come off as a shade Mawkish and I admit that it's probably too long, but I like it alot!
Unfortunately it seems to skip at 5.36 where it starts sounding jazzy - or at least it sounds very disjointed - what's going on here?
BTW - Honegger's cello concerto was also composed in the same year, and is a little gem. It's actually quite similar harmonically to this piece, jazzy (a bit like this piece) - a wee bit like Gershwin.
This piece reminds me also a bit of Caplet's masterpiece - Epiphanie for cello and orchestra - that is another forgotten gem of the cello repertoire - the cello concerto that Debussy never wrote. I just remembered - the obvious religious connection too (didn't even think of that!) - I was just thinking that it was similar in purely musical terms. The Maklakiewcz also sounds a bit like Bloch's Voice in the Wilderness, another quasi religious work (or less so like Schelomo of course).
I'm only interested in Polish composers that lived before 966 ........ So I guess this thread isn't for me ..........
Quote from: Guido on July 20, 2007, 06:46:57 AM
Are we talking about the same Maklakiewcz concerto here?! :)
Apparently not. ;D I'm talking about the one
I hear. >:D
Quote
Unfortunately it seems to skip at 5.36 where it starts sounding jazzy - or at least it sounds very disjointed - what's going on here?
It's a very serious issue I'm experiencing with the Polish TV server. Basically, I have 2 servers to choose from when I'm listening to the Polish Radio on-line: 1) the Polish Radio server, which is very fast with no glitches but has poor audio quality (64 kbit/s), 2) the Polish TV server which has decent quality sound (192 kbit/s) but has this problem that every 20 mins or so I "lose" anything from a couple of secs to 2-3 mins of the stream (it just suddenly "cuts forward"). I tend to choose the latter, hoping that the inevitable glitches will come between pieces - unfortunately, that usually isn't the case (I have now figured a workaround for those programs which include a lot of talk in between the music - I simply restart the player; but that, of course, won't work for longer pieces either). 64 kbit/s wouldn't be so bad but apparently they're compressing the sound the wrong way - there's a real lot of noise. If you want to get an idea of what I'm talking about - download the Ludomir Rozycki Piano Concerto posted somewhere earlier on this thread.
And thanks for the musings on other cello concertos from that period and/or in a religious vein - very interesting stuff! 8)
Quote from: D Minor on July 20, 2007, 07:10:48 AM
I'm only interested in Polish composers that lived before 966
D Minor, here's a challenge: name
one, and I'll widen the gap. 0:)
In fact, I'll be satisfied if you name one Polish historical figure of
any kind who died before 966. :P
Quote from: Maciek on July 20, 2007, 08:50:24 AM
In fact, I'll be satisfied if you name one Polish historical figure of any kind who died before 966. :P
Easy -
Siemomysł (d. 964), third Polish duke and father of
Mieszko I...
Yeah? And where exactly was that "Poland" he supposedly came from situated?
Quote from: Maciek on July 20, 2007, 10:09:45 AM
Yeah? And where exactly was that "Poland" he supposedly came from situated?
In the
Warta river basin ... 0:)
Quote from: Tancata on July 20, 2007, 10:13:54 AM
In the Warta river basin ... 0:)
Yeah, the
Warta river basin ........ I know it well .........
........ One of my favorite pre-966 basins, in fact ........
There was no such thing as "Poland" in the Warta river basin at that time. There was a kingdom of the "Polan" tribe but even after the symbolic date of 966 it wasn't called "Poland" (or "Polska", or even "Sclavinia"). It was called the Gnieznian State (after Gniezno - its capital). My challenge was a trick one. It is generally assumed by historians that there was no such thing as "Poland" prior to ca. 960 - and the specific date usually given is 966. But even that is stretching things a bit - I'd say Poland wasn't really recognized "internationally" until the year 1000. There are even more moot points to this but I'm not bringing them up - they're completely unmusical. ;D
But after serious consideration, I've decided to humour D Minor. After all, he's one of our most valuable posters on the subject of Polish music. ;D
There. 0:)
Result! :D
Now, back on the music subject:
I hope you guys are not missing the fact that so far everyone who has downloaded the music I've posted over here has been pleased. Lilas Pastia is constantly posting rave reviews of these pieces in the What are you listening to thread, and there's also Guido's comment above. 8)
Personally, I'd single out the Nowowiejski and Melcer pieces as truly excellent. There's also that Rozycki PC but the sound quality is bad, with really distracting noise... :'(
Hopefully one day I'll have some Polish Renaissance and Baroque to post (Gorczycki, Szarzynski, Mielczewski etc.). And I wish I had some glitch-free Jan Engel symphonies - he's a splendid early-Classical composer. Actually, I might upload the two glitchy ones that I have anyway.......
Quote from: Maciek on July 20, 2007, 10:42:02 AM
Hopefully one day I'll have some Polish Renaissance and Baroque to post (Gorczycki, Szarzynski, Mielczewski etc.). And I wish I had some glitch-free Jan Engel symphonies - he's a splendid early-Classical composer. Actually, I might upload the two glitchy ones that I have anyway.......
This would be awesome. But do you have any first-millenium Polish chant codices? 8)
Will get back to you on that in a minute. Have to fetch the dictionary. ;D
I wonder if Jordi Savall's "Music in the Court of Duke Siemomysł" is still available.... >:D
This label has some amazing stuff - I'm not sure of the exact dates though. AFAIK, 15th c. is the farthest back surviving written materials go but I may be wrong.
Musicon (http://www.musicon.pl/index.html)
Another label good for this sort of stuff (they have a ton of Polish Baroque but maybe there's something older lurking about) is this:
PRO MUSICA CAMERATA (http://www.promusicacamerata.pl/)
Quote from: Maciek on July 20, 2007, 10:51:08 AM
This label has some amazing stuff - I'm not sure of the exact dates though. AFAIK, 15th c. is the farthest back surviving written materials go but I may be wrong.
Musicon (http://www.musicon.pl/index.html)
Nice labels, yeah - do you have any of the CDs?
Sadly enough.... well, you know the rest of the sentence. 0:) ;D
Actually, I do have at least 2 Musicon CDs - but the music is rather modern (20th c. in fact). I'm sure you'll appreciate the fact that more than half of the PMC catalogue is on my wishlist though. ;D
I just remembered that DUX (http://www.kmt.pl/dux/) and Acte Prealable (http://www.acteprealable.com/) have some old Polish music in their catalogues too. If you look at the out of print items (>:D) in the AP catalogue you will find two very interesting discs:
Gaude Mater Festival - 4 (http://www.acteprealable.com/albums/oop_ap0099.html)
and
Gaude Mater Festival - 8 (http://www.acteprealable.com/albums/oop_ap0199.html)
Of course, I don't have them - but just wanted to mention how enticing they look. :P
I can upload a few recordings from one of this year's Gaude Mater concerts: choral works by Wladyslaw Leszczynski (17th c.), Jan Ruta (16th?? don't remember) and Jan Ponikowski (17th?? not sure) - these are admittedly not the most famous Polish composers from those periods. But interesting enough. Their works were discovered in the Jasna Gora Monastery library. Actually the monastery has been conducting a program of bringing its collection to life for several years now. The library is enormous, so it should take about a hundred years... ;D
Polish music resides in spirit, and in a common humanity, irrespective of any geographical existence .........
Quote from: D Minor on July 20, 2007, 11:28:52 AM
Polish music resides in spirit, and in a common humanity, irrespective of any geographical existence .........
How very true! In fact, I'd go so far as to say that anyone who calls himself a human being can also call himself a true Pole. I'm a Pole and nothing human is alien to me.
Of the famous Polish composers in the broad sense of the term, I'd single out Beethoven and Brahms. How about you, D Minor?
Quote from: Maciek on July 20, 2007, 11:44:28 AM
Of the famous Polish composers in the broad sense of the term, I'd single out Beethoven and Brahms. How about you, D Minor?
YES!
But let's not forget the other duo: Elgar and Dittersdorf. 0:) Or were they actually Polish? I don't think so.
No pressure, but if you have a chance why not upload one or two Polish pieces from the 16-17th centuries...
I haven't got anything that old in decent sound (what I have sounds as if it was actually recorded back then!).
I do have these 2 Jan Engel Symphonies:
Symphony in B Minor played by the Cappela Czestochoviensis
I don't remember the conductor but it may have been Marek Toporowski
movements: Allegro, Andante, Allegro
DownloadLink: http://rapidshare.com/files/44072453/Engel_Jan_Sinfonia_B-moll_Cappella_Czestochoviensis_Allegro-Andante-Allegro.mp3 (http://rapidshare.com/files/44072453/Engel_Jan_Sinfonia_B-moll_Cappella_Czestochoviensis_Allegro-Andante-Allegro.mp3)
File-Size: 17,60 MB
Symphony in F Major played by Concerto Avenna, conducted by Andrzej Mysinski
movements: Presto, Andante, Presto
DownloadLink: http://rapidshare.com/files/44075545/Engel_Jan_Sinfonia_F-Dur_Concerto_Avenna_Andrzej_Mysi_ski_Presto-Andante-Presto.mp3 (http://rapidshare.com/files/44075545/Engel_Jan_Sinfonia_F-Dur_Concerto_Avenna_Andrzej_Mysi_ski_Presto-Andante-Presto.mp3)
File-Size: 20,37 MB
Jan Engel died in 1788. I can't find his birth date. Who knows? Maybe he was a 16th-17th century composer as well? ;D
Quote from: Maciek on July 20, 2007, 02:05:12 PM
Symphony in B Minor played by the Cappela Czestochoviensis
I don't remember the conductor but it may have been Marek Toporowski
Might also be Tomasz Wabnic - he's their "artistic director".
I'm wondering if this new thread title does not imply that the composers in question were little-known only until 1945? ???
Maciek - many thanks for the Karlowicz Violin Concerto! A wonderful work. It was this that made me join this forum in the first place.
There was a program about Karlowicz on Dutch radio some five years ago (or more, can't remember). It took Wightman's study as its basis. I'd never heard a note of Karlowicz', but as soon as the music started (the Lithuanian Rhapsody), it gripped me immediately and I decided to seek him out. There is a great library in Rotterdam with Europe's greatest collection of CDs. I borrowed Salwarowski's recording of K.'s symphonic poems. Since then these six works are among my all-time favourite orchestral pieces. A pity I didn't tape them - the Noseda recordings are less idiomatic in my view, though the sound and the orchestra are better. But the typical Karlowicz atmosphere is better captured in the earlier recordings.
(The tender lyrical section of the Violin Concerto is now playing through my head-phones - I'm so glad I got to know this piece!)
Jez
Jezetha, I was delighted by your post, thank you! It makes me believe what I'm doing here is worthwhile!
Actually, I've been meaning to upload a non-commercial recording of the Lithuanian Rhapsody for quite a while, and now you've made me do it. I've added it to my upload queue, and shall post it here within a day or two. The Silesian Philharmonic under Karol Stryja (that has never been released, at least not to my knowledge??).
I'm afraid I don't know Noseda's recordings but I'm quite certain I must have heard Salwarowski's and Kaspszyk's on the radio a few times. Though I don't own them. The ones I have are conducted by Stanislaw Wislocki.
Actually, you've made me realize that I also have a CD release of some of Grzegorz Fitelberg's recordings from the early 1950s - these are labeled as "historical recordings (without sound reconstruction)" so I suppose they must be out of copyright (the 50 year term has passed, they haven't been remastered). I could post a lossless rip (FLAC files) of those, if you or anyone else would like that...?
Maciek - ANY new (to me) performances of Karlowicz are very very welcome!! I'm looking forward to your uploads(s)! I seem to remember that those Fitelberg readings are very good!
Do you know, btw, that you can order his Karlowicz recordings from Salwarowski himself? You living in Poland, it should be easy to get hold of them, I think. You can send him money through a postal order, I believe (but these have been phased out here in Holland, so - not possible for me).
I wish he would rip his recordings and that you could download them (after paying for them, of course, preferably by PayPal). But that's too much work for a conductor, I think. He'll have other things on his mind (like learning scores and conducting...)
I'm waiting for your riches with bated breath...
Jez
A conductor personally selling his own recordings - that's amazing! :o Could only happen in these parts of the world... ::) ;D
On the page of the Polish internet store Gigant (www.gigant.pl) it says those recordings are available (http://www.gigant.pl/html/produkt.asp?p=mjmaelawjmjgvtmhoaka) ("availability: 5 days on average"). But they don't update their page very often so that might not be true. OTOH, the official distributor also seems to have them (http://kmt.pl/pozycja.asp?DZ=&KsID=3151&kstr=2). But again, they've misinformed me in the past so I wouldn't trust them. Especially since www.merlin.pl shows the CDs as out of print (http://www.merlin.com.pl/frontend/browse/product/4,193873.html).
I've ripped the Fitelberg CD and will upload it probably tomorrow. I think I'll start a new Karlowicz thread for that (I'm sure it'll be massively popular ::)).
Fitelberg, BTW, was probably the best Polish conductor of his times, a close friend of many composers (Szymanowski, Prokofiev), and a composer himself.
Here's the new thread:
http://www.good-music-guide.com/community/index.php/topic,2319.html (http://www.good-music-guide.com/community/index.php/topic,2319.html)
Tancata, if you go to this page:
http://www.choruw.uw.edu.pl/angielski/posluchaj_a.htm (http://www.choruw.uw.edu.pl/angielski/posluchaj_a.htm)
(Warsaw University Choir)
you will be able to download from there pieces by Wacław z Szamotuł (Waclaw from Szamotuly) and Mikołaj Gomółka - two 16th c. Polish composers. One piece by Gomółka and two pieces by Wacław z Szamotuł - not much but it's a start. And there's lots of other stuff to download from there too!
Quote from: Maciek on July 01, 2007, 03:32:17 PM
As for recordings and performances, Nowowiejski remains known today only for his organ works.
Yesterday marked the 131st anniversary of the man's birth but the Polish Radio which usually observes anniversaries of that kind did not live up... And I'm sure they have one or two things in their immense archives. However, it appears DUX has 2 new Nowowiejski discs in their catalogue:
(http://www.dux.pl/upload/obrazki/okladki/0603_mini.jpg) (http://www.dux.pl/wyszukiwanie_pelne/wyniki/podglad/?pid=234)
Sea Songs op. 42 for chorus a cappella
(http://www.fileden.com/files/2007/8/25/1381505/GMG%20samples%202/308869927.jpeg) (http://www.dux.pl/wyszukiwanie_pelne/wyniki/podglad/?pid=285)
25 Folk Songs from Warmia and Mazury op. 21 no. 8 for soprano and piano
I find the spelling they adopted ("Feli
x") fascinating...
Maciek, both look interesting, but that choral CD especially so. Will you be getting it? I would love to know how it is.
--Bruce
Well, I've added both to my "upcoming purchases" list (and yes, the choral one comes first for me too ;)). So whenever I make my next DUX purchase, I think I'll include at least one. But I don't know when that will be... ;D
Noticed some interesting new additions to the DUX catalog.
A recording of Mikołaj Zieleński's Offertoria et Communiones Totius Anni (early 17th century piece) with Emma Kirkby:
(http://www.dux.pl/upload/obrazki/okladki/0681_mini.jpg) (http://www.dux.pl/catalogue/results/details/?pid=368)
And even more exciting (since all the Moniuszko choral works recordings that I am aware of are currently out of print), three of Moniuszko's masses:
(http://www.dux.pl/upload/obrazki/okladki/0657_mini.jpg) (http://www.dux.pl/catalogue/results/details/?pid=369)
(I wouldn't stake my life on it but this looks like a re-release.)
AFAIK, Offertoria et Communiones Totius Anni is still available in an earlier Camerata Silesia recording (on Musicon; and I see no reason to believe the new one is better >:D):
(http://www.musicon.pl/pictures/covers/mcd020.jpg) (http://www.musicon.pl/english/indexen.html)
Which reminds me that I've yet to buy the Camerata Silesia CD with Kirkby:
(http://www.musicon.pl/pictures/covers/mcd030.jpg) (http://www.musicon.pl/english/indexen.html)
Why am I posting this? To revive an old thread and to vent some of the frustration at not being able to purchase everything I need want. (Those Nowowiejski discs are still on the wishlist... Hmph! >:()
I notice that DUX covers have greatly improved over the last couple of months/year or two...