Franciszek BRZEZINSKI (1867-1944)
Complete Piano Works
Triptique, op.5 (1910) [21:33]
Suite Polonaise (Polish Suite), op.4 (1908) [19:58]
Toccata, op.7 (1912) [2:56]
Waltz (c.1901) [6:47]
Tema con Variazioni, op.3 (1908) [13:04]
Barbara Pakura (piano)
rec. Concert Hall, Katowice, Poland, 2-9 February 2012; Salon Blüthner,
Katowice, 2 August 2012 (Waltz). DDD
ACTE PREALABLE AP0267 [64:29]
Franciszek BRZEZINSKI (1867-1944)
Sonata in D, for violin & piano, op.6 [26:41]
Józef SZULC (1875-1956)
Sonata in A minor, for violin and piano, op.61 [35:22]
Irena Kalinowska-Grohs (violin)
Barbara Pakura (piano)
rec. Concert Hall, Katowice, Poland, 1 February 2012; Salon Blüthner, Katowice,
31 July-1 August 2012 (Szulc). DDD
ACTE PREALABLE AP0271 [62:07]
These two CDs, more or less co-released by the Polish independent Acte Préalable,
feature the music of Franciszek Brzezinski, who was actually a lawyer by profession
and better known as a music writer than composer. His body of work is therefore
small: whilst one of the two discs is billed as Brzezinski's 'complete
[solo] piano works', that and the violin sonata appear to amount to
the totality of Brzezinski's extant works. A purported piano concerto
and Polonaise-Ballade did not surface in the label's research for these
recordings.
Though Brzezinski was in one sense an 'amateur', he was not
untrained or self-taught, having studied composition with Max Reger and piano
with Jan Kleczynski (1837-95) - the latter not to be confused with composer-violinist
Jan Baptysta Kleczynski, an exact contemporary of Mozart, and the subject
of another recent and decent double release by Acte Préalable (AP0264, AP0265).
By way of curious footnote, Acte Préalable owner Jan Jarnicki comments in
his foreword to AP0267 that "bad luck would have it that the recording
time exceeded the limit of one disc by several minutes, while the possibility
of making two forty-minute-long CDs was out of the question." This led
to the happy inclusion of Józef Szulc's sonata, yet the two Kleczynski
discs mentioned above have exactly the same running time as the present pair
would have done without the Szulc.
Brzezinski's straightforward, sub-three-minute Toccata does not really
merit its owns opus number, and the Waltz, though prettily retrospective,
is salon music. The remaining piano works, however, are more substantial and
deserving of recognition. The Triptique is a progressive trio of preludes
and fugues, each with their own distinctive character, in which Brzezinski
pays homage to Johann Sebastian Bach. With the Tema con Variazioni and Suite
Polonaise Brzezinski confirms the appeal to him of conservative forms, but
that is not to say he lacks imagination, even when, as in the Variations,
his purpose seems as pedagogic as expressive. Admirers of the slightly younger
Sergei Bortkiewicz will recognise a kindred spirit: Brzezinski has a similar
feel for lyrical nostalgia, lightly peppered with native rhythms and colours.
For those unfamiliar with Bortkiewicz, crossing Chopin with Rachmaninov will
give a similar idea, especially as far as the very attractive Polish Suite
is concerned.
Nevertheless, Brzezinski's best work is undoubtedly his violin sonata
- a work of searing expressiveness and emotional turbulence, especially in
the central adagio which, towards the end, seems to paraphrase the lovely
cantilena of Max Bruch's Adagio Appassionato op.57.
The sonata by Brzezinski's contemporary and friend Józef Szulc (the
Polish spelling of the German name 'Schultz') is his only known
work in this or any genre. According to the booklet notes, it "lies on
the border of light music and classical" (sic), but a rather sniffy view
like this does not stand up well to scrutiny, even if the second half of the
work does not quite replicate the poetic heights of the first. A piano pupil
of Paderewski and Moszkowski, not to mention a composition student of Noskowski
and Massenet, Szulc was, despite his neglect, well trained. Indeed, the passion
and imagination, breadth and depth of the sonata betoken a musical mind of
definite originality - one that is moreover simply too tunefully approachable
for some academics who write liner-notes.
Both sonatas call for a violinist who has sensitivity and technical prowess
in equal measure, and Irena Kalinowska-Grohs fits the bill nicely. Barbara
Pakura has a little less work to do in the Szulc, but her delivery of the
piano contribution to the two sonatas seems to feed off Kalinowska-Grohs,
although in the solo piano recital she does seem a little more reticent.
Audio quality is very good, although the piano Waltz and the Szulc sonata,
recorded at a different venue, sound a little recessed - albeit the sonata
less conspicuously so. By way of compensation, the recording of Brzezinski's
sonata is especially vivid. The booklets provide substantial notes on the
works, in both cases by Maryla Renat. The English translations from the Polish
are not perfect - what to make of the "'mutual inter-genre penetration'
phenomenon" Szulc's sonata is said to "validate"'?
- but pretty good overall. Prefaces and biographies share material across
both albums where appropriate, but a varied selection of black-and-white photos
add to the differences and interest.
Byzantion
Collected reviews and contact at artmusicreviews.co.uk
Passion and imagination, breadth and depth betoken a musical mind of definite
originality.
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