One of the composers
who has occupied increasing prominence
in my general listening over recent
years is Karol Szymanowski. That his
music is more widely known and played
is much to be welcomed; he has been
revealed as the most significant Polish
composer since Chopin. His compositions
carry the imprint of many influences
and speak of a musical mind that was
deeply and roundly cultured. The entry
on Szymanowski in The New Grove Dictionary
of Music and Musicians makes tantalising
reference to his writings, listing several
in the sources, and not having any available
in English until now has been a source
of frustration to this investigative
listener.
The volume is cast
in sections, with Wrightman's useful
and authoritative introduction to Szymanowski's
life and thought forming a much needed
context for what follows. Here Wightman
draws to good effect upon the writings
of others, particularly a volume edited
by Jerzy Maria Smoter, to give a well-crafted
portrait of Szymanowski's background
and early years. As this contextual
piece continues brief quotations from
Szymanowski himself introduce many of
the threads of composition, performance,
musicology, philosophy, literature and
sense of place that occupy the rest
of the book. This section will be particularly
useful for those with patchy or no prior
knowledge of Szymanowski, or indeed
those, like myself, who refer back to
the mini-biography in tandem with reading
the main texts. Some might wonder why
this book includes only 'selected writings'
and Wightman points out that this is
due largely to the repetitive nature
of Szymanowski's output. The volume
presents approximately two-thirds of
his writings.
Part one - On Critics
and Criticism - consists of three
texts that are should be seminal reading
for anyone at all interested in the
practice and social role of music criticism.
I would however choose to dispute Szymanowski's
point that critics should seek to cover
that which is currently fashionable
over that which is not. Nevertheless
he usefully analyses the position of
Polish music in relation to what were
then the more mainstream concerns of
European composition. In doing so he
staunchly defends the position of both
his writings and compositions.
Part two - On Folk
Music and Nationalism - explores
these issues in some depth. From short
interviews to more lengthy discursive
pieces a picture quickly emerges of
a composer opposed to the direct quotation
of folk melodies, but one who placed
emphasis on the "memory" of
such tunes. In this respect Szymanowski
was similar to Enescu in terms of approach.
It is tempting also to read many of
his writings in a quasi-ethnomusicological
light, given that he concentrates at
length in providing a response to Bartók's
own writings and providing in-depth
analysis of Polish highland music.
Even Chopin is commented upon in terms of his
Polishness, which Szymanowski claims, is misunderstood by most
non-Poles. This point is again taken up in a lengthy piece about
Chopin in Part three - On Nineteenth-century
music. The section sees Szymanowski
adopt the guise of a widely read musical
historian. A solidly constructed argument
regarding Romanticism in Music is advanced
and the matter of its influence. He
might start from the point of a provincial
Pole, but in wide sweeps he includes
Goethe, Shakespeare, Bach, Spohr, Mozart,
Beethoven, Berlioz, Mendelssohn, Schumann,
Chopin, Wagner, Bruckner, Schopenhauer,
religious devotion and Nietzsche along
the way. In fact, should one want an
orientation of the topic from the viewpoint
of a cultured man in 1928/9, this text
would be hard to better.
Part four - On Twentieth-century
music - sees Szymanowki extend his
analysis towards his contemporaries.
In doing so, one learns much of what
he thinks about those on the wider musical
scene - much of his thought is positive,
being an open-minded individual - and
the relative isolation of Poland in
understanding many 'outside' composers. Russian composers -
particularly Mussorgsky, Prokofiev, and Stravinsky - alongside
Debussy, Ravel, Richard Strauss, Reger,
and the "extremely radical"
Arthur Bliss are singled out for attention.
Wagner, Strauss and Schoenberg are the
subject of an essay, as are Stravinsky,
Les Six, Stravinsky, Ravel, Dukas and
the Future of Culture in their own individual
tracts. The last mentioned, given as
a conference paper in Madrid in 1933,
displays the timeliness of his thought
and concerns over politically influenced
nationalism as the stock-in-trade of
music rather than its own freely determined
ends and objectives.
Szymanowski was director
of the State Conservatory in Warsaw
from 1926 until retiring in 1930. Part
five reflects his thoughts on the purpose, aims and value of
music education. He defends the need for a world-aware
conservatoire, reflecting his own outlook, and sets out the social
benefits of education and music in combination for the Polish
people. In this respect his writing was then not only
ground-breaking for a Pole - a point he was aware of - but even today still carries strong
resonances. One only has to think of
how widely known and integrated Poland
and its culture has become across Europe
in recent years. The part music and
its performers have played in that process
is inestimable, and indeed, forms a
model for other emergent countries to
follow should they so wish.
The final part - On
the Composer's Life - is the most
personal
and autobiographical. Included is an
introduction to planned memoirs (never
completed) and a somewhat hostile interview
about his work as a composer and his
background. His touching memorial to
Paweł Kochański, the violinist
upon whom Szymanowski relied
for technical advice and inspiration
in his sting writing, completes the
section and the volume. A pity perhaps
that even a few pages were not found
for some of his poems, stories or opera
libretti on Benvenuto Cellini or
Don Juan. One wonders - only briefly, mind - if he thought that Berlioz
did a slap-dash job on the Florentine
sculptor or that Mozart left a facet
of the womaniser un-scored. Surely not,
for he was far too knowledgeable and
respectful a man, but to see his thoughts
might have further rounded out his own
creative ambitions in the operatic field.
Absorbing, enlightening
about its author and intellectually
rewarding this book is unreservedly
recommended for those wanting to know
more of this fascinating man and his
world view.
Evan Dickerson
for
details 
