Hevel
Reflections in Polish piano works of the 20th and 21st centuries
Miłosz Magin (1929-1999)
Five Preludes (1963)
Mieczysław Weinberg (1919-1996)
Sonatina, Op.49 (1951)
Sonata No.4, Op.56 (1955)
Paweł Łukaszewski (b.1968)
Three Nocturnes (2020)
Jan Wachowski (b.1998)
Variations in C major (2019)
Jan Wachowski (piano)
rec. 2023/24, Concert Hall of the Krzysztof Penderecki European Centre for Music, Lusławice, Poland
Dux 2020 [70]
Hevel, the title of this disc, is a word difficult to pin down in translation and makes you wonder how it is understood in Polish, since it has so many shades of meaning – indeed, ‘shades’ being one of them. The original is Hebrew and means ‘vapour,’ ‘smoke,’ or ‘transience.’ It can also allude to transcendence. Where it occurs in the Bible in the Book of Ecclesiastes, its translation is given as ‘meaningless’ in the sense that everything in life is transient and, therefore, to an extent, worthless. The works selected here refer to its meaning as ‘transience,’ particularly in relation to Miłosz Magin’s Preludes, pianist Jan Wachowski’s own Variations in C major, and, to a degree, Mieczysław Weinberg’s Sonatina. However, ‘hevel’ has another, deeper meaning which refers to the passing of pain, bitterness or sorrow, and it is this meaning that has a particularly close relevance to Weinberg, who, in 1953, spent three months in prison. It was only the combination of Stalin’s death and the brave intervention of Shostakovich that effected Weinberg’s release. Weinberg’s pain and sorrow, however, was caused by having to leave his family back in Warsaw when fleeing the encroaching Nazis. His sister had fled with him but was forced back through discomfort. He finally learned that his parents and sister perished in the holocaust on his sole revisit to Poland in 1966. While it may inform one’s appreciation while listening to bear all these strands in mind, the music also speaks for itself.
Miłosz Magin’s five preludes are highly enjoyable pieces, the odd-numbered ones presenting considerable technical challenges to the performer, all of which Jan Wachowski overcomes without the slightest problem. These are exciting pieces, while the second and fourth are oases of calm. I couldn’t help but imagine a racing horse when listening to the first, the image was so insistent. The booklet notes imply that pianists are drawn to Magin’s works, almost all of them written solely for the piano, for reasons beyond the fact that they are vehicles that demonstrate virtuosity. I must confess his is yet another name I had not come across before, leaving me for the umpteenth time wondering how he had escaped my radar. I look forward to discovering more, since these five short preludes have well and truly whetted my appetite.
Mieczysław Weinberg’s Sonatina is a truly lovely work, short but perfectly formed, incorporating all the components that have made him become one of my favourite composers. Interesting tunes, grace, elegance, pathos, and much besides. It was dedicated to Shostakovich, who had welcomed him when he reached the Soviet Union and had helped him become established as a composer there. Weinberg dedicated his Sonata No.4 to Emil Gilels, one of the 20th century’s giants of the keyboard. Any admirer of Weinberg will probably recognise the catchy tune of its opening, which is treated to both fast-paced and slow, reflective moods, lasting over eight minutes. Likewise, the memorable second movement will be immediately recognisable to anyone who has come across it before; its folk-inspired melody is impressively powerful. The third movement is more sombre and inward-looking, and of a raw beauty. The driving pace of the concluding Allegro gives the impression of an upbeat mood but does not last, as Weinberg closes the sonata with a melancholy mood laced with sadness and doubt about the future, probably reflecting the atmosphere of the times, despite the relative thaw that occurred following Stalin’s death two years before the work was composed. It closes with the notes fading into nothing like vapour, as per one of the words ‘hevel’ is said to mean.
The fourth sonata is certainly a highlight in Weinberg’s canon, though his compositions were of such a consistently high quality it makes the designation of what can be considered a highlight difficult.
Pawel Łukaszewski was to me a name only, but now I have had the chance to hear some of his pieces and the next disc I have for review is of works solely by him. If these three brief nocturnes are anything to go by, I am in for a treat, as they are very enjoyable. As someone who loves tunes, I am so grateful that we have left behind the era in which all composers were made to feel marginalised if they chose to write them rather than something with little form or substance. I am reminded of what the American composer Edward Smaldone wrote: “the brainy parts of contemporary concert music should never get in the way of expressing heartfelt, soulful, swinging music that exudes the spirit of spontaneity. The two sides combine.” The same goes for any music, concert, chamber or solo. With these three nocturnes, Łukaszewski certainly proves he can write memorable tunes. These three are part of a set of fifteen, lasting almost an hour, and each is named after a newly discovered star – highly appropriate for nocturnes. I must now seek out the entire set; meanwhile, the fifth, ‘Kraz’, has become my latest earworm. The three pieces are very delicate and thoughtful, perfect music for winding down after a fraught day. It is interesting and, I think, informative to note that Łukaszewski was one of Jan Wachowski’s teachers.
The disc closes with pianist Jan Wachowski’s own theme and set of ten variations. I am glad to say that despite his being born as recently as 1998, he, too, is equally a fan of writing tuneful music and these delightfully simple yet impressive pieces are imbued with a sense of joy and wonder. His variations are excellent in concept and execution. It is perhaps wrong to select any as a highlight, yet I was seriously blown away by variation no IX which is the longest; this and the final one make a lasting impression. There is plenty of drama as well as some dreamy lyrical interludes. He writes that the variations can be said to represent his ‘youthful period’, written as they were when he was 21, yet he is still only 27 and I hope that comment that they were part of his juvenilia doesn’t mean that he has since moved away from writing tunes. He cites Szymanowski’s Variations in C major as an influence, since he was playing them when he composed his own. Interestingly, Szymanowski was described as being ‘the last Romantic’. Perhaps at the time he earned that label, the prevailing musical landscape was veering towards the abstract. I am not sure now whether that title is now so fitting, given that so much beautifully tuneful music has since been composed. Jan Wachowski’s set is wonderfully inventive, sensitively written and thoroughly enjoyable, leaving me with the desire to listen to them over and over again.
If Szymanowski inspired Wachowski, then the other composers represented on the disc are equally ‘Romantic’ in their music. His selection of works here is excellent, presenting plenty of challenges, none of which poses him any problems whatsoever – although that is unsurprising when one reads that at the tender age of 10 he won first prize in a competition in Italy open to pianists aged up to 37. When a pianist as young as he is so good, the future looks bright. I am particularly pleased that I chose his disc to review and look forward to hearing more of his recordings.
Steve Arloff
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