Polish Music

[markniew]

In the Downloads Section/Polish Music a number of solo piano works can be found:

JULIUSZ ZARĘBSKI (1854-1885)
1. Tarantella op. 25
2. Novelette-caprice op. 19
3. Serenade Burlesque op. 20
From 'Les Etrennes' op. 27
4. Waltz in B major
5. Melody
6. Waltz in A major
7. Berceuse op. 22
8. Polonaise in F sharp major op. 6
From 'Les Roses et les Epines' op. 13
9. Andante con moto
10. Allegro molto
11. Allegretto
Ryszard Bakst, piano

LP by Polskie Nagrania/Muza XL 0255 (ca. of 1965) MONO. Sound volume is rather low - perhaps someone is able to improve that.

Ryszard Bakst (1926-1999) started his lessons at the age of six in Warsaw with Józef Turczyński. During WW2 he found himself in Soviet Union (Sverdlovsk) and then studied in Kijev and in Moscow under Igumnov and also with Neuhaus. In 1947 he returned to Poland and studied with Drzewiecki. He won 6th prize at the Piano Chopin Competition in 1949. In 1968 he was forced to resign from teaching in the Warsaw Conservatory and moved to England where - starting from 1969 - he was a professor at the Royal Manchester College of Music.

[isokani]

Markniew!
Thanks so much for the Zarębski! I have this LP -- bought as a teenager -- but I left in the UK. Great playing -- Bakst was a colleague of my teacher. I'm surprised that I've never come across a CD re-release in Poland ...

Thanks also for continued bits of Maklakiewicz ... especially the Japanese Songs. Do you have the Concertino for piano, soprano and chmbr orch? That would be great to hear. I walked past the Academy in Katowice a couple of days ago and thought of him. Might try to find his grave. Pity he didn't write tons of piano music.

[markniew]

Hi Isokani,

Yes, I do have Concertino for pf with soprano by Maklakiewicz. Must upload it. Perhaps there are some more radio archive recordings of his works but frankly speaking Polish Radio is not eager to present such forgotten music to listeners! They keep them hidden and I am afraid that many listeners will not live long enough to have a chance of listening 

[markniew]

Thank you Jery (jerfilm) for the Rosenstock concerto! His name is not mentioned in books of Polish music. Must listen to it carefully to trace perhaps Polish motives.
Do you know on his other compositions? Is the concerto his only composition? It is hardly to believe so.
Marek

[jerfilm]

You are very welcome, Marek.  According to my source, the piano concerto is his opus 4 so presumably there are at least 3 other compositions.      He doesn't appear in Groves, even as a noted conductor and if he's not in Polish music literature, it may be hard to find information about him.  He became an American citizen in 1949.   Wikikpedia is no help nor is the Oxford Dictionary- no mention of composing.  Google search produces nothing.   Anyone else??

Jerry

[markniew]

Today I have found an interesting article on the situation in Polish music at the end of 40s /beginning of 50s, including preparations for the 1st Festival of Polish Music where the state authorities requested the composers to write /present new music for this occasion (meeting precisely indicated expectations). Many pieces declared to be composed are mentioned. Some were materialized while others did not. A part of composers names are not known today. Some of the mentioned and composed music is not known (at least to me, and not issued). Note that a number of music composed for the purposes of the festival have been uploaded in this forum. Interesting is a case study on Panufnik and his Symphony on Peace (also uploaded before).

I am quite sure that the situation in Poland was to some extent typical for the countries subordinated to Soviet Union. Because of that I duplicate this post in two threads.

http://www.usc.edu/dept/polish_music/PMJ/issue/5.1.02/thomasfile.html

[eschiss1]

Rosenstock's piano sonata, opus 3 was printed by Universal Edition in 1919 and reprinted by Recital Publications in 2004. His opus 5, Ouverture zu einem heiteren Spiel was published by Universal Edition in 1921. The Free Library of Philadelphia has the manuscript score and parts of the piano concerto (listing its orchestration - in their shorthand, so-pn, 3-fl (1-pc, I), 2-ob, 1-eh, 2-cl, 1-bcl, 2-bn, 1-cbn, 4-hn, 3-tpt, 3-trb, 1-tb, tmp, prc, cel, hp, str.) and published score and (published?) parts of the Overture op.5 , too. (I find for compositions Worldcat, not Google, is generally my first stop and so it proved here...)

[lechner1110]

  Thank you Jerry,  I listened Rosenstock's concerto today.
  In Japan , the name of Rosenstock is famous as he established the foundation of NHK symphony orchestra.
  But I didn't know he was composer. It's a fine romantic and symphonic music , in my view.  Many thanks!

[markniew]

Another performance of the Piano Quintet.
I know that in the earlier upload with Jonathan Plowright there are some defects resulting from poor streaming or my software to catch radio signal.
Here you have the copy of an old LP by Polskie Nagrania/Muza XL 0178 (ca. of 1963) MONO
never reissued on CD.
Sound level is not excellent, I do not have appropriate software - still count on other with more expertise in improving old recodings


JULIUSZ ZARĘBSKI (1854-1885)
Piano Quintet in G minor op. 34    (1885)
1. Allegro
2. Adagio
3. Scherzo. Presto
4. Finale. Presto

Władysław Szpilman, piano
Bronisław Gimpel, 1st violin
Tadeusz Wroński, 2nd violin
Stefan Kamasa, viola,
Aleksander Ciechański, cello

[JimL]

When I tried to extract the zipped files I was notified that the movements were password protected.  Do you have a password you could PM me, or maybe check to see if you could re-upload the Zarebski Piano Quintet without the need for a password?

[markniew]

I have just checked it. No prompting for password appeared - it unzipped (with RAR) without problems.

[JimL]

Sorry, Alan.  You may transport the whole load of these posts to the appropriate section.  In any event, the files extracted with 7zip uneventfully.

[JollyRoger]

Something for fans of more modern music (including Frank) available in the Downloads/Polish Music

ROMAN PALESTER (1907-1989)
Symphony no. 5 (1977-81)
Side A of the LP
Tessante con forza
Stesso tempo
Molto lento, misterioso

Side B
Vivace
Molto lento

Polish Radio National SO - Katowice
cond. Jan Krenz

some info on Palester can be found on PWM website:

http://www.polmic.pl/index.php?option=com_mwosoby&id=23&view=czlowiek&litera=18&Itemid=5&lang=en

Performance done during the Warsaw Autumn Festival of Modern Music of 1988

source: LP of 1988 and because of that the sound quality is not very high but I do not have other version.

Roman Palester is one of the finest of the truly unsung composers, his music is well crafted and highly original. The one work posted here is not the best representative of his music, as his other music is more accessable. According to Wikipedia "by the late 1940s, he was widely regarded as one of Poland's greatest living composers,[3] alongside Grażyna Bacewicz and Andrzej Panufnik." 
His music fell into obscurity for purely political reasons, again Wikipedia states"Palester worked for Radio Free Europe, as the head of its Polish culture department and as the presenter of a series entitled "Music Abolishes the Frontiers". Both the station's acutely anti-communist stance and his own refusal to adopt the principles of Socialist Realism lead to Palester being exiled from Poland, and the communist officials expunged both his name and scores from official publications and prohibited public performances of his work."
So all the more reason his music demands a fair hearing. Someone should record and post to Unsung from the site below:
Try his edgy Symphony for 2 String Orchestras, dour Nocturne or Adagio, or his very accessable early Ballet "Song for the Earth."

http://chomikuj.pl/tadeusz_baird/2.+Muzyka/POLSKA/Palester*2c+Roman+(1907-89)

[eschiss1]

Still hoping to find the three movement titles (the last is an announcer with the conductor and orchestra) for the Zelenski piano concerto. It's mentioned in a book on Ignaz Friedman as a concerto dedicated to him, though. Neat. It seems he performed it in May 1904 (possibly the premiere??).

Working on a (redundant but I do not have access to other materials at the moment...) IMSLP-ish worklist for Zelenski since it will help me get my head straight about what he published when, and since I am, apologies for one of my few talents eh ...- I have a small (not self-deprecating, but not wishing to over-estimate) talent in that direction. Then I will have better information on his late works, I think.

[JimL]

They're right here on the Forum, Eric, either on the Download or in the Zelenski thread on the Composers and Music Board.  According to what I have in my iTunes, the movements are:

1. Allegro maestoso
2. Theme and variations: Andantino quasi allegretto
3. Finale - Rondo: Allegro non troppo ma con brio.