We
can perhaps all be forgiven for not having heard of Maria Szymanowska,
though if bells are being rung amongst readers of MWI then this is
because her
Ballades & Romances have been
reviewed
previously. By all accounts she is a fascinating character in the
sometimes murky world in between the more easily identifiable stylistic
aspects of those periods clearly labelled Classical and Romantic. She
had no professional education in music other than from private tutors,
but became a significant performer through tours in London, Germany,
Russia, France, Italy and beyond. She was a friend of John Field and
Goethe, and granted the title ‘First Court Pianist to the Imperial
Princesses Elizabeth and Maria of Russia’ in 1822. Robert Schumann
recognised her talent, if with somewhat faint praise: “If we detect the
uncertain woman in form and harmony, we also find a woman full of
feeling, who has much more to say, if she only knew how.”
Indeed, Szymanowska is no Schumann, though her
piano pieces have on occasion something of a proto Chopin-esque quality
to them. The
Six Menuets which open this 3 CD set
are filled with grace and charm, some with a slightly academic
Etude
quality to them, but with a few intriguing little harmonic twists, such
as in the last of the set in D minor. Following established dance
patterns as well as adopting newer trends such as the lyrical
Nocturne
genre, this catch-all description of ‘grace and charm’ is perhaps a
little too general, but does encapsulate the impression left by most of
the music here. Szymanowska’s sense of proportion and melodic gift is
beyond question, and you can imagine any or all of these pieces
bringing life to soirées anywhere in Europe during the early 19
th
century. The first of the
Quatre Valses à
trois mains towards the end of CD 1 has a cheeky quality
which arguably evokes the spirit of Rossini, and the final track is the
Nocturne in B flat major, the wide-ranging
melody of which shows Szymanowska at her most expressive.
CD 2 opens with a piece dedicated to John Field,
Caprice sur
la Romance de Joconde,
building on the variation techniques made fashionable by Hummel, who
was also a friend of Szymanowska. This has quite a few flourishes one
might have thought came from Chopin if struggling for references and is
one of the most substantial individual pieces in the entire series. We
are treated not only to works with piano solo with three or four hands
in this set, but also such pieces as the
Sérénade pour le
Pianoforte avec le accompagnement de violoncelle.
This occupies a different acoustic to the piano works and is a bit
vaguely recorded, sounding a bit as if we are sitting behind the stage
rather than having the music projected towards us. The work is a set of
variations, the cello part intended for amateur use while the piano is
given increasingly virtuoso material. Another notable work from CD 2 is
the
Fantaisie pour le pianoforte, which is full of
operatic theatricality and drama and a refreshing change from large
sets of dances.
CD 3 opens with the
Vingt Exercises et Preludes,
which stand as a testament to Szymanowska’s abilities as a pianist.
These were known to Schumann, who remarked that “they are delicate
azure wings that neither raise or depress the scales, and that no one
should roughly touch.” They certainly prove challenging at times even
for our soloist Mr. Dobrzanski, who does very well for the most part
but does approach cracking point at times.
The
Six Marches are also quite technically
demanding
and orchestral in their approach, and with quotes from Mozart and
Russian folk tunes they also cast a wide cultural net. The set
concludes with the rondo-form
Divertissement pour le
pianoforte avec accompagnement de violon, back in the
Manhattan and Dickinson College acoustic and its shy microphone
placement.
Altogether
this is an excellent set of discoveries from the Acte Préalable label,
and deserves nothing but plaudits. The piano used is listed as a
Bösendorfer Imperial Grand, which has a suitably historical feel
without being too far away from what you might consider a modern piano
sound. It is in any case suitably in scale for the nature of these
pieces. Slawomir P. Dobranski is good, but I can imagine some of these
works being played with a little more élan and panache. The other
pianists listed join him capably on the duet pieces, including his
student the young Barry Zhang, aged 11.
Dominy Clements
Disc contents
CD 1
Six Menuets [24:53]
Polonaise pour le pianoforte sur l'air national favori de feu Prince
Joseph Poniatowsky [3:26]
Le Murmure. Nocturne [3:50]
Danse Polonaise [4:16]
Twenty-Four Mazurkas or National Polish Dances [14:29]
Cotillon ou Valse figurée [5:31]
Le Murmure. Nocturne à trois mains [4:07]
Quatre Valses à trois mains [9:28]
Nocturne in B flat major [5:13]
CD 2
Caprice sur la Romance de Joconde [8:46]
Grande Valse pour le pianoforte à quatre mains [4:11]
Sérénade pour le Pianoforte avec le accompagnement de violoncelle
[6:35]
Dix-huit Dances de differentes genres [44:41]
Fantaisie pour le pianoforte [11:21]
Romance de Monsieur le Prince Aleksander Galitzin [4:15]
CD 3
Vingt Exercises et Preludes [49:24]
Six Marches [23:26]
Divertissement pour le pianoforte avec accompagnement de violon [5:03]
