Ludomir RÓŻYCKI (1883-1953)
Piano Quintet in C Minor Op.35 (1913) [42:05]
Ignacy FRIEDMAN (1882-1948)
Piano Quintet in C Minor (1918) [37:38]
Jonathan Plowright (piano)
Szymanowski Quartet
rec. 8-10 October, 2015, Potton Hall, Dunwich, Suffolk, UK.
HYPERION CDA68124 [79:45]
It wasn’t long ago that Hyperion gave us the Piano
Quartet of Zelenski and the masterful Piano Quintet of Zarebski (review).
Now, from the same artists, here is another disc of unknown chamber music
by two more Polish composers. Różycki completed a wide variety of works,
including ballets, operas, several symphonic poems, two piano concertos and
a small body of chamber music – including the present piano quintet.
By contrast Friedman, who was more of a travelling virtuoso, eschewed large-scale
works and his piano quintet is his most substantial piece. It is therefore
slightly surprising that the latter should be, to my ear, the more involving
and interesting listening experience. Both quintets are in three movements
and are in C Minor but, apart from that, they inhabit rather different worlds.
Różycki’s quintet will not take the musical world by storm. Belying
the image of the naked maiden clinging on to a fearsome horse on the CD cover,
it has a brief, declamatory opening (Lento) and then settles down
to meditate (Allegro moderato?) for 14 minutes or so with predominantly
unison strings, in a style not far from the rather earthbound late piano quintets
of Fauré. There is some swaggering development but this leads to a ruminative
central section with a dipping motif. After a return to mild turbulence the
movement ends tranquilly. The second movement is a funereal Adagio that also
lasts about 14 minutes. This has an initial theme that is introduced by the
cello - followed by a second subject with a rocking theme – also introduced
by the cello. The movement remains very slow, apart from a brief Andante section.
The impassioned ending involves striding octaves in unison strings - followed
by the piano accompanying tremolando, col legno strings - until it all dies
away.
The final Allegro giocoso movement also starts with the cello and
we get a stuttering scherzando that rapidly reverts to a reflective central
section. I am afraid that I have to go back to my familiar refrain about composers
who simply do not provide sufficient variety to maintain interest in their
music. This is very much the case here and a hymn-like theme, that could have
been briefly rousing, is reduced to long stretches of plodding Andante that
predominate until a final, more vigorous section falls away (yet again) to
a slow ending. Once again the movement is pretty well 14 minutes long. The
whole work is perfectly pleasant as background music but rather insipid and,
as an active listening experience, it leaves a lot to be desired. In particular
it is, in my humble opinion, about 50% too long for its material. One wonders
what the inspiration for it was. At any rate I expect it to disappear back
to oblivion. Fortunately, the kissing of musical frogs occasionally turns
up a handsome prince/beautiful princess (take your pick!) and the Friedman
quintet is a different matter.
The cascading bravado opening of the first movement Allegro maestoso
immediately grabs the listener (well, this listener anyway) before it morphs
into a waltz-like second subject that could be Korngold or even Richard Strauss.
Throughout the movement there is an interesting variety of contrasting textures.
After a development full of suspense we get a wistful return of the second
subject, a vigorous climax based on the opening rhythms and a further brief
return to the second subject before the movement ends, powerfully.
The second movement (Larghetto) is actually a theme and variations
but the place of the “theme” is taken by three short and not particularly
striking motifs. No matter – there is no shortage of variety here either.
There follow six separate variations and a fugue (unfortunately not separately
tracked). The first could almost be related to the Aquarium section of Saint-Saëns’
Carnival of the Animals. After a slow second variation with col legno
strings the short third mazurka-like variation consists of quiet splutterings
that lead to a somewhat sinister fourth variation, a minuet-like fifth and
a swaying sixth. The final section starts lively and initially continues powerfully.
It is described as a fugue in the booklet but I noticed only vaguely fugal
musings that gradually build to a climax before dying away to delicate octaves
on the piano. Strangely, the dying away is extended in an almost humorous
fashion because the piano keeps coming back with valedictory chords before
the movement finally finishes.
Only the last movement, Epilogue, strikes me as a bit of a disappointment.
It starts with a gentle duple time dancing tune, with what the booklet refers
to as “Central European inflections”, which rapidly reverts back
to recollections of the two preceding movements and rather runs into the sand
before erupting into a vigorous climax and falling away to quiet reminiscence.
If this is, then, not a work to challenge the great quintets of Brahms, Schumann
and Dvorak it can probably be set alongside the quintet of Zarebski and, perhaps,
even that of Korngold.
Quite aside from the variable compositional quality of what is offered here
the performances are everything one could wish for. Jonathan Plowright is
a splendid pianist who has done much to champion this out-of-the-way Polish
repertoire and the Szymanowski Quartet could hardly be bettered. I see that
the two violins of the quartet each take a turn at leading but I noticed no
particular difference between the ways the two quintets are led. The Potton
Hall recording has all the characteristics that make that venue something
special for chamber music.
So, a bit of a curate’s frog (!) but I am very pleased to have heard
the Friedman work.
Bob Stevenson
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