Polish 19th Century lost Piano Concertos & Symphonies

[Artur Slotwinski]

Dear Members of Unsung Composers Forum. According to my knowledge based on what I read in New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians there is certain amount of Piano Concertos written by unsung Polish composers. The problem is even I searched WorldCat, BNF, ONB and many other libraries I coudn't find the piano concertos by following composers who for sure wrote at least one piano concerto. Perhaps somone knows or found a work by the following composer on some old shelf somwhere?

Polish Composers who wrote Piano Concertos:

Czerwinski Wilhelm
Grossman Ludwik (Louis, Ludwig) in C major
Hertz Michał (Michal)
Iliński Jan Stanisław (Stanislaw), Janus Stanislaus Illynski (also he wrote Symphony in F major which is lost)
Kątski Antoni (Kontski, Katski, Anton de)
Każyński Wiktor (Kazynski) in f-sharp
Sołtys Mieczysław (c-minor)
Wernik Kazimierz (Casimir)

Perhaps if You know a concerto by another polish sounding name please contact me. I am composer, pianist and promoter of polish unsung music of XIXth centry. This year I managed to finish reconstruction of polish unknown Piano Concerto by Wojciech Albert Sowiński (Grand Concerto in g-minor). I based the reconstruction/restoration on 1-piano reduction so it was a big challenge! Please feel free to contact me! Glad to be here! All the best for You!

Artur Slotwinski

[Alan Howe]

Welcome to UC, Artur! Let's hope someone can help...

[eschiss1]

out of curiosity did you also search the NUKAT catalog system (Polish Libraries catalog search) - Worldcat lists some of their stuff but not as well described (and without direct links to it) and probably doesn't  "mirror" all of it...?

Sowinski I've heard of - his 2 symphonies intrigue me, and we have some of his music over at IMSLP where I do some editing...- I hope your piano concerto reconstruction finds performers!

Thanks!

(Edit: A lot of music by the three Katski/de Kontskis ended up being published in France and Germany, as I recall, though not necessarily their larger works, of the existence of which I was generally unaware. Anton has a symphony in A "Fantastique" (manuscript-copy parts) - in the Berlin State Library's archives, and a piano trio in E "Op.152" is in manuscript at U. Coburg... (not the same work, I think, published as Op.152, but...). He also had published some piano sonatas.)

(His brother Karol/Charles de Kontski wrote a string quintet and two string quartets that I'm aware of. IMSLP has the parts of his quartets, published by Ikelmer of Paris in 1862.)

[thalbergmad]

I have played the Sowinski and thought it a vibrant and brilliant work. Hopefully your efforts will result in a recording.

Must have been a struggle as the solo score does not reveal a great deal if i recall correctly.

There is a deep seam of melody and brilliance that runs through the Polish romantics and i wager there are a few gems hidden away waiting to be found.

Thal

[Gareth Vaughan]

Dear Artur,

Welcome to the forum. Giles Enders has been in contact with me regarding some of the composers whose concerti you list, and while I am presently unable to help I shall certainly keep any eye out for these scores. Since you are clearly very knowledgeable about Polish Romantic piano concerti, I wonder if you know the whereabouts of Krogulski's 2nd Piano Concerto in B minor (1832). I must admit I haven't begun an exhaustive search for it yet, but I thought I would ask in case you knew (if indeed it has survived) and could save me the effort.

Sincere good wishes,
Gareth Vaughan

[Martin Eastick]

I have for a long time wondered if the complete "premier concerto" by Edouard Wolff survives in any form anywhere. I have the first edition of his "Grand Allegro de Concert" Op39, published by Maurice Schlesinger in Paris (M.S.3208) which clearly states (in small print) on the title page that "cet allegro est tiré du Premier Concerto"! I know that Mike Spring did make some initial enquiries a few years back but nothing came of this - and I don't know how much research he did! The score of Op39 does clearly mark out the tutti & solo passages but no further clues to instrumentation etc. are given. Nevertheless, it would be a clear contender for inclusion here, even if, as it seems, it is only a "half lost" concerto!

[Artur Slotwinski]

Hello Martin

I'm aware of the Wolff's piece, I found a digital pdf copy in my internet search. I wonder what other movements would be if they really existed. I must have missed the inscription that this is the first movement of concerto - in my copy there is no such text, but I only presumed that it would be a torso of a concerto like abbandoned A-major Concerto by Chopin from which we have the Allegro de Concert with the clear tutti and solo fragments. Perhaps further opus numbers contain the other movements. What i presume if there is some Nocturne op. 4x+ by Wolff and it is in the parallel key and also if there is a rondo in the main key, they could be attached to the op. 39 and be the subject of further reconstruction of the orchestral accompaniments. But this procedure is very doubtful in terms of realism and truth what Wolff really intended. I looked through the score of my version of op. 39 and it is really promissing work - diffcult and rich. . My I ask for pdf of Your version to compare? I am going to send shortly my copy to You in private message. Let's compare editions.

All the best,

Artur

[JimL]

I would be highly interested in finding some 19th-Century concertante works for cello by Polish composers.  There just don't seem to be any at all.  Anything come to mind?

[Alan Howe]

Start a new thread, then, please, Jim.

[eschiss1]

1915 apparently doesn't count, though (Stojowski)

[FBerwald]

No Piano Concerto written by Stojowski is lost. If you are referring to No. 3 in F minor, it doesn't exist. I believe it was a misread during cataloging - early draft of Piano Concerto in F-sharp minor, Op. 3 somehow became Piano Concerto No. 3 in F minor. 

[Gareth Vaughan]

That is correct, FBerwald. I believe I was one of the first to point that out to a rather embarrassed librarian at LoC. But I must also admit to not quite following this thread. How did Stojowski's "lost" PC emerge from Jim wanting to talk about 19th century Polish concertante cello music?

[FBerwald]

He was referring to the fact that Concertstuck for Cello and Orchestra which is yet to be recorded. Strangely the Polish Music Journal has yet to correct the mistake regarding the phantom 3rd concerto. It's still listed under works in manuscript.

[eschiss1]

He=Eric. Sorry about that.

[Gareth Vaughan]

Thanks, guys. I'm with you now.