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Second Stanisław Moniuszko International Competition of Polish Music
rec. 2021, Concert Hall of the Artur Malawski Podkarpacka Philharmonic in Rzeszów, Poland
DUX 1857-1858 [76 + 79]

The booklet notes open with the line Polish music is not only Chopin. In these days of easily accessible recordings and musicians delving deeper into unknown territory many composers have been uncovered – I cannot believe the music I have in my collection that I never dreamed would be recorded – but in the concert hall it is harder to hear Polish composers beyond Chopin and, to a lesser extent Szymanowski. In an attempt to right this imbalance the Stanisław Moniuszko International Competition of Polish Music was set up in 2019 attracting competitors from beyond Poland – the piano winners in this years festival were from Canada and the Ukraine – but the music played was strictly home-grown; only Polish composers allowed. The pandemic put the second competition on hold but it eventually took place between 11^th and 18^th September 2021. Prizes are awarded in two categories, piano solo and chamber ensemble and this double CD features performances from the top three winners in each category. The second CD contains performances by musicians who received honourable mentions or special prizes.

Canadian pianist Carter Johnson won first prize. Like second prize winner Ivan Shemchuk he opens with one of the Moniuszko's three Chopinesque valses, the charming A major Valse. Next is the elegant Mazurka in F minor by Chopin pupil Karl Mikuli, previously unrecorded which, like the other works of his that I have heard, is stylish and melodious. The high wire act that is Leschetizky's etude La Piccola, sparklingly played is followed by the brief, colourful miniatures by Arthur Malawski, somewhat reminiscent of the miniatures of Prokofiev; the lullaby is particularly evocative. To close Johnson plays the final movement of Bacewicz's second Sonata, the toccata, in which he easily captures the skittish, volatile character. Ivan Shemchuk's Moniuszko Valse is in E minor and is also very Chopin-like in its sinuous melancholy. Zygmunt Stojowski's fiery Orientale is next, a work played so memorably by Josef Hofmann; Shemchuk's reading is full of character and atmosphere especially in the middle section. He rounds off with Szymanowski's über-romantic Etude in E flat minor. In third place was another Szymanowski, this time Michał Karol Szymanowski who is represented by his performance of the Polish Triptych by composer-pianist Miłosz Magin, written in 1967 though its colourful, folkloric and dance elements coupled with the tonal harmony could be from an earlier generation. The first is a vigorous triple time dance while the gorgeous second opens like a mazurka played by a music-box. A finger-twisting toccata-like piece ends this entertaining set. Staying with pianists and indeed Magin I was bowled over by the Chorale and fugue from his Toccata, Chorale and Fugue played by Adam Mikołaj Gożdziewski (honourable mention). The chorale has a slowly unfolding chromatic theme and is a descendant of the chorale from Franck's Prelude, chorale and fugue while the fugue is highly virtuosic with a subject based on a very short motif. Neither the back-sleeve or the inner notes mention the fact that the Toccata is missing here though Gożdziewski did play it in the competition. Second prize winner Shemchuk also won the special prize for the best performance of a composition by Henryk Pachulski – now there's a sentence I never thought I would write. He plays the first Sonata whose three movements run to just over 14 minutes; it is passionately romantic in mood with a first movement dominated by the semiquaver figure heard in the first bar. The second movement is based around an eight-bar theme that repeats several times with increasing fervour interspersed with lighter triplet motifs. The finale is for me the most satisfying, a mix of high flying virtuosity, heavy on the octaves and heady lyricism. More Pachulski can be heard in four of his eight Fantastic tales (legends), the first three and the agile final number. These tales are quite short and are more like a set of romantic preludes than anything with a real narrative element to them though they are undeniably attractive. They are played Ruslan Kazakov (honourable mention) and the same award was given to Krzysztof Kozłowski who plays an excerpt from Godowsky's Java Suite, the atmospheric In the Kraton whose gamelan effects disguise the piece's intricate difficulties handled seamlessly by Kozłowski. The music critic prize went to Martyna Kubik who plays a sad little prelude by Roman Statkowski with echoes of Liadov and Rachmaninov. The prize for the best performance of a composition by Władysław Żeleński was taken by Jakub Cetnarowski who gives a blistering account of the Thème varié, a beautiful set with ten gloriously varied and idiomatic variations ranging from a mazurka, a fugue, a scherzando sicilienne and several showy variations that keep the pianist very busy. This is something of a winner it must be said.

Turning to the ensemble prizes and we don't leave the piano just yet; first prize went to the Książek piano duo who I reviewed favourably in Rachmaninov and Arensky not too long ago (Dux 1720 review). Their selection opens with the suave Reverie from Zarębski's Deux morceaux en forme de Mazurka, a piece that goes beyond simple dance It opens with an urbane waltz that sounds somewhat French and has a faster middle section that reinforces that impression with hints of Chabrier's infectiousness. I am very impressed by the three Negro Spirituals arranged by Roman Maciejewski, a pupil of Nadia Boulanger and Kazimierz Sikorski, names that crop up again in this line up of composers. From age 24 he lived outside of Poland, moving between the UK, the US and Sweden where he died in 1998. Apart from his many original compositions he made arrangements for two pianos of works ranging from Bach and Clérambault to Ravel and Kreisler as well as several of Ignacy Jan Paderewski's piano solos. These sparkling transcriptions of the spirituals Listen to the lamb, I want to be ready and a sympathetic version of Sometimes I feel like a motherless child are given thrilling performances as is the familiar set of Paganini Variations by Witold Lutosławski. Second ensemble prize went to the wind ensemble Kwintofonia who played wind quintets by Tadeusz Szeligowski and Antoni Szałowski, both of whom studied with Nadia Boulanger which goes some way to explaining the very Gallic sound world we hear. The vivacious opening movement of Szeligowski's quintet has elements of a tarantella and is bright and colourful in its use of the instruments while there is considerable beauty in the second movement's melodic contours. It is a delightful and very approachable work especially for a piece written as late as 1953. The third movement of the quintet by Szałowski is again very tonal and French sounding, playful and effervescent in its clever use of rhythm, articulation and timbre. Before Boulanger he studied with Kazimierz Sikorski who also taught Roman Palester whose ballet The Song of Earth provides the polish dance for violin and piano that was part of the programme that gave Aleksandra Kuls and Marcin Koziak third prize. Vigorous and folk like it opens with a recitative for solo violin before the dance proper. With some of the vibrancy and energy of Bartok's Roumanian Dances its outer sections frame a slower brooding passage where the violin takes to the higher register with some vaguely blues like touches. The Dance Preludes for clarinet and piano by Witold Lutosławski comprise two slow and three faster pieces; the faster numbers are mainly concerned with rhythm, especially in the complex fifth prelude. The third is distinctive for the spiky clarinet grace notes in the third and the sparse melody of the fourth is accompanied by an equally barren piano part, staccato bass and the odd flourish of notes. We have heard quite approachable piano works by Miłosz Magin but his String Quartet in two movements is a different matter, played here by the winners of the Margot Magin special prize for the performance of a chamber composition by Miłosz Magin, Kwartet Smyczkowy Op.1 who discovered the manuscript and gave the premiere in this competition. Its mood and temperament are caustic and the textures are polyphonic; it makes for uneasy listening in its almost unerringly jagged rhythm and harmony. The second movement moderato seems to speak of pain and grief, restless and tormented. Tadeusz Baird's Caprices for clarinet and piano were the choice of the Dobrowolski Słapiński Duo (honourable mention); similar in style to the Lutosławski Dance Preludes with the emphasis on rhythm and energy both are full of ebullience and virtuosity with a great sense of conversation between the performers. The final honourable mention goes to Trio Legend who play the finale of Andrzej Panufnik's Piano Trio which he wrote as a student and reconstructed in 1946 after it was lost during the war. It's mix dance and contrapuntal elements have a great deal of humour peeping from behind its sometimes gruff exterior.

Extensive notes in Polish and English are given in the booklet. I would mention that the print is quite small on a rich blue paper and while the Polish text is in white font the black font chosen for the English makes it a little difficult to read – maybe just my old eyes but I definitely had to get it in the right light to read. The performers are all strong and committed and there is no sense that the restriction in the choice of composers has been a hindrance; indeed the performers all seem to rise to the challenge and are evidently enjoying the rich choice of music that is available within that remit. It is wonderful to find a festival that is doing so much for the music of its homeland both familiar and unfamiliar. Hopefully the performers will take this music with them and spread it far and wide and continue to explore beyond the familiar. There is some high quality music at this competition much of which could hold its own on the world's stages and Dux have given us an excellent taste of this extraordinary festival, one that will hopefully grow in strength and recognition. Would that every country had such an event.

Rob Challinor

Contents
All piano solo unless marked
Stanisław Moniuszko (1819-1872)
Waltz in A major
Waltz in E flat minor
Karol Mikuli (1819-1897)
Mazurka in F minor op.4
Theodore Leschetizky (1830-1915)
La Piccola – etude from deux morceaux Op.43 No.2
Artur Malawski (1904-1957)
Five Miniatures
Grażyna Bacewicz (1909-1969)
Piano Sonata No.2 – Toccata
Juliusz Zarębski (1854-1885)
Réverie from Deux morceaux en forme de Mazurka Op.5 No.1 for piano duet
Roman Maciejewski (1910-1998)
Three Negro Spirituals for 2 pianos
Witold Lutosławski (1913-1994)
Variations on a theme by Paganini for 2 pianos
Dance Preludes for clarinet and piano
Zygmunt Stojowski (1870-1946)
Orientales from Deux morceaux Op.10 No.2
Karol Szymanowski (1882-1937)
Etude Op.4 No.1
Tadeusz Szeligowski (1896-1963)
Quintet for wind instruments, Movements 1 and 2
Antoni Szałowski (1907-1973)
Quintet for flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon and horn, 3^rd movement
Miłosz Magin (1929-1999)
Polish Triptych
Chorale and fugue from Toccata, chorale and fugue
String quartet
Roman Palester (1907-1989)
Polish dance from The Song of Earth for violin and piano
Henryk Pachulski (1859-1921)
Piano Sonata in C minor Op.10
Phantastische Märchen Op.12 excerpts
Leopold Godowsky (1870-1938)
In the Kraton, No.10 from Java Suite
Roman Statkowski (1859-1925)
Prelude in B minor Op.37 No.6
Władysław Żeleński (1837-1921)
Thème Varié Op.62
Tadeusz Baird (1928-1981)
Two Caprices for clarinet and piano
Andrzej Panufnik (1914-1991)
Piano Trio Op.1, 3^rd movement

Performers
Carter Johnson (piano) Ivan Shemchuk (piano) Michał Karol Szymanowski (piano) Krzysztof Kozłowski (piano) Adam Mikołaj Gożdziewski (piano) Ruslan Kazakov (piano) Martyna Kubik (piano) Jakub Cetnarowski (piano)
Książek piano duo (pianos) Kwintofonia (wind quintet) Aleksandra Kuls and Marcin Koziak (violin and piano) Piotr Dinh Tieu-Quang and Paweł Popko (clarinet and piano) Kwartet Smyczkowy Op.1 (string quartet) Bartłomiej Dobrowolski and Maciej Słapiński (clarinet and piano) Trio legend (piano trio)