MIRECKI, WIENIAWSKI • POLISH ROMANTIC SYMPHONIES

[hyperdanny]

very strange..clicmusique say they posted mine on Feb 20th, maybe thay had a few items stock..

[Alan Howe]

Maybe there are different release dates in different countries...

[hyperdanny]

It arrived today, so I guess you are right about the different release dates. Still it's weird that Dux says unavailable. Mysteries.

[Alan Howe]

The UK release date has now slipped to 31st March, according to Amazon.

[eschiss1]

On the ... of that day of April. Not promising.

[Alan Howe]

It's available from Clique Musique, as has been suggested, and can be ordered from them via Amazon France:
https://www.amazon.fr/Symphonies-Pawel-Przytocki/dp/B0BNW9H9BY/ref=sr_1_5?__mk_fr_FR=%C3%85M%C3%85%C5%BD%C3%95%C3%91&crid=IMEUHSJQWTHH&keywords=mirecki&qid=1677779992&sprefix=mirecki%2Caps%2C307&sr=8-5

[Alan Howe]

My copy arrived today and I must say I'm most impressed. As the sleevenotes suggest, Mirecki's Symphony (1855) has more than the whiff of the stage about it; for example, following the powerful opening movement there is an elegant, ballet-like adagio non tanto featuring solo strings which is in complete contrast to the preceding movement. Certainly nothing like this comes readily to mind from the symphonic repertoire. Mirecki, apparently, was a much-travelled composer and his idiom is certainly eclectic. After a vigorous scherzo, the finale is lively and often genuinely exciting. Again, as the notes suggest, listeners may be reminded somewhat of the finale of Brahms' 2nd Symphony from a generation later.

Altogether very enjoyable indeed - lovely orchestration and what sounds like good playing from the orchestra based in Łódź, Poland's third-largest city. A real find, in fact - and this from a composer born before Schumann and Mendelssohn! Extraordinary!

Regarding Mirecki, there's this earlier thread:
https://www.unsungcomposers.com/forum/index.php/topic,4059.msg43391.html#msg43391

[Alan Howe]

Regarding the Wieniawski, please see this earlier thread:
https://www.unsungcomposers.com/forum/index.php/topic,5071.msg55213.html#msg55213

Again, my impressions are favourable. Although I haven't made any direct comparisons, I'd hazard a guess that this new recording is rather better than the Acte Préalable offering - mainly, I suspect, because of superior playing and recording. But I'll leave that to others to decide. To my ears, though, the brass play particularly well and are clearly audible in the overall sound-picture.

[Alan Howe]

...and now to a potentially controversial conclusion regarding these two works...

It turns out that the Mirecki is the more striking work - and by far the more exciting. For me, the Wieniawski, for all its more advanced idiom, doesn't quite add up, but try the finale of his earlier contemporary. What a tremendous storm he kicks up here! A real find - and surely a true forerunner of Brahms 2 (iv). Extraordinary!

[Alan Howe]

So let's add a few more facts on Mirecki. He produced his Symphony in C minor, his only work in the genre, in 1855 at the age of 64, just seven years before his death in 1862! And it's a remarkably confident and individual-sounding work that has pre-echoes of a major symphony written a generation later.

I haven't stopped playing it for the past couple of days. I'm really excited to read what others think of it...

[terry martyn]

I have played through the Mirecki for the third time. It is an attractive work with stormy climaxes. Let's face it, it is not as substantial as "the apotheosis of the dance", but it has its moments, there's no doubt about that.

I am now having yet another go at the Wieniawski. I have both recordings, but in all honesty, I bought the CD for the Mirecki. Maybe this time, I will find something to make me more enthusiastic about it

[Alan Howe]

I probably bought it for both works, but it's the Mirecki that stands out.

[terry martyn]

I am afraid that I am still unenthusiastic about the Wieniawski.  There are times when I think that a good symphony may emerge, but I can't remember it!   Whereas, the classy start to the Mirecki is lingering in my thoughts.

[hyperdanny]

I agree with what is being said by the other forumers: "this" Wieniawski is a little better in execution and recording than the Acte Prealable, but it still remains, to my ears, a bit "unrealized" and stubbornly unememorable.
Totally different story with the Mirecki, which I really like.
The beginning, as Terry said, is really high quality, and ushers you in the piece with a bang. but also the rest is inspired and well developed. A keeper for me.

[Rakastava]

Yes I received mine from rarewaves-usa