Ignacy Jan PADEREWSKI (1860-1941)
Symphony in B minor, Op 24 “Polonia” (1903-1908)
Lviv National Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra/Bohdan Boguszewski
rec. August 2019, Concert Hall of the Lviv National Philharmonic, Ukraine
DUX 1636 [63:39]
Paderewski is identified with his firm patriotic commitment to his native Poland for most of his output, and this symphony is by no means an exception. The booklet notes for this release outline how this work “is directly related to the fate of Poland and the idea of striving for its independence.” Heroic sentiments express a tribute to the January Uprising in 1864, the subtitle seemingly referring to the general struggles of life under Russian occupation.
The opening of the work has the feel of something by Shostakovich though this work of course predates Dmitri. Experienced listeners can have fun identifying a variety of influences, from the atmospheres of Sibelius, opulent moments that recall Rachmaninov; any number of high romantic forebears such as Tchaikovsky, and even including touches of Elgar in the third movement. Organ adds drama to the final moments of the first movement which, by the time it has entered, already risks becoming a caricature of itself. The orchestration certainly deserves a mention. Paderewski throws in exotic instruments such as contrabass sarrusophones and something called a tonitruon, a percussion instrument that evokes the “low rustling sounds and thunders” to be heard in the third movement, which is a veritable symphonic poem in its own right. These instruments have been sought out and included in this recording, and this and a few other details make this recording of interest to specialists, the conductor determined to “reflect the performance indications written by the composer in the score in the most faithful way.”
This is a massive undertaking in many ways, but the relative neglect of “Polonia” is understandable. It may indeed be “considered the pinnacle achievement of the artist” but, while entertaining and filled with honest sentiment, this is the kind of work that misses out on distinctive and truly memorable themes, and is too sprawling to maintain a truly gripping musical narrative. Much as I admire that first movement, it does stick around too long. The recording is good, and the gruff low tones of those sarrusophones come through admirably. The Lviv National Philharmonic plays with palpable commitment and does a decent enough job, though there are some moments of edgy intonation, and there are some strange ‘glissandi’ in the second movement (horns at 2:31) that I haven’t heard in other recordings. One can always imagine one or two levels of extra refinement might be achieved elsewhere, and there is a recording with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Grzegorz Nowak on the Fryderyk Chopin Institute label from 2018 that has a more confidently luxuriant feel, but you shouldn’t be put off by the Lviv recording too much in that regard.
This is not the first time Paderewski’s Polonia symphony has appeared on the DUX label (review), and the Hyperion label has their recording from the late 1990s with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra conducted by Jerzy Maksymiuk (review). I don’t have these to hand for direct comparison, but in any case Bohdan Boguszewski’s ‘urtext’ approach to the work provides its own USP for fans and students of the work. My colleague Rob Barnett summed this up as “a late-romantic symphony of brooding grandeur”. I can do no better by way of a description, and in this voyage of listening and discovery I am glad to have become acquainted with
“Polonia” and its exotic orchestral extensions.
Dominy Clements
