Żeleński
is one of a number of Polish composers
championed by this label though he’s
one of the more circumscribed compositionally.
Born near Cracow he studied there and
in Prague and Paris. Back in Cracow
he began a distinguished pedagogic career
- succeeding Moniuszko as composition
teacher - before moving to an even more
distinguished position in Warsaw. He
was soon back in Cracow however and
was eventually to become Director of
the Music Conservatoire. So, a strong
academic pedigree and clearly an important
teacher – his most famous pupil was
Zygmunt Stojowski.
As for his piano music
we have here a selection, both big and
small. The two Morceaux offer a Toccata,
which starts with a rhetorical flourish
but has a rather staid central section
and a poetic Idylle written in a kind
of harmonically updated Chopinesque
style. The Ode to Youth opens with a
strenuous march but does relax. There’s
something rather dogged about it and
no really convincing sense of development,
though I did wonder if greater use of
the pedal might have helped, at least
superficially. The noble tread and poetic
counter-themes of the Bardic March are
attractive if rather predictable and
by rote.
More interesting are
the two Mazurkas, though the notes are
pitching it very high to claim that
they’re the equal of Chopin’s. The little
harmonic shifts give them glint and
life; the second is the bigger work
but is less focused and less impressive
than its more compact brother. That
leaves the big Sonata, a half-hour plus
work. Once again the pervasive influence
is Chopin though there’s a touch of
late Schumann about the first movement.
Structurally this movement doesn’t hang
together that well and for all the little
Lisztian moments of bravura, attention
will shift more to the slow movement.
This has a rather jaunty central panel
and unfolds a set of well-crafted variations,
grave then lyrical. The finale is a
fugato workout but fortunately not too
academic.
Broadly
unadventurous though it is Żeleński’s
music is often warm and appealing. When
it’s bombastic it’s much less interesting.
Joanna Lawrynowicz brings admirable
control though at one or two points
I wondered whether she might not have
tried to mitigate some of the more sprawling
moments. Otherwise she’s fine and so
are the production values of this admirable
Polish company.
Jonathan Woolf
see also review
by Glyn Pursglove
Joanna Lawrynowicz (piano) 
for
details
