Zygmunt Stojowski (1870-1946)
Piano Music Volume 2
Danses Humoresques Op.12 (1893) Dumka Op.14 (1903)
Trois Morceaux Op.15 (1896)
Deux Caprices Op.16 (1898)
Cinq Miniatures Op.19 (1900)
Polnische Idyllen Op.24 (1901)
Karol Garwoliński (piano)
rec. 2024, Lublin, Poland
Reviewed from download
Acte Préalable AP0583 [70]

I thoroughly enjoyed volume one of this series and am glad to welcome back Karol Garwoliński who takes us through to op.24, documenting Stojowski’s works from the last decade of the 19^th century. Some biographical info can be found in the review of volume one (Acte Préalable AP0541 review) and to that can be added further detail; earlier teachers included Henryk Bobiński (1861-1914) who had briefly been a pupil of Theodor Leschetizky and the composer of two piano concertos and several piano works. From 1887 Stojowski studied in Paris and after four years there he was successful enough to have several early works performed at the Salle Érard including the first piano concerto and the suite for orchestra op.9.

The six Danses Humoresques date from just a couple of years later and are national dances such as the polonaise, mazurka and krakowiak. The opening polonaise is a noble and melancholy piece based around the short rising theme heard at the start. Despite some grand heroics along the way it ends calmly. The Valse is as far as I can see the only one of the set to have been recorded before though generally in hard to find versions; a 1927 test pressing by Ellen Couzens, Stojowski’s widow Luisa’s recording on a long player for the International Piano Archives in around 1976 (IPA115) and Mischa Levitski’s piano roll version. It is an engaging salon waltz with some gently piquant harmonies and rhythms that hint at more rustic dances. A modest mazurka follows, quite simple in its design though it wanders through several keys as it goes its merry way. A second mazurka has more emotional depth and its vigorous counter theme hints at Khatchaturian’s ballet music. The cracovienne and final cosaque fantastique are more virtuosic and energetic; the former would make a effective alternative to Paderewski’s cracovienne fantastique (not that that piece is played that often nowadays) and the latter is a full on high-kicking, spirited dance. The Dumka op.14 was originally published as op.17 no.1 – op.17 is the now given to the cello sonata – and its melancholy mood is joined by exotic harmonies, lending it an eastern tone. The shimmering decoration above the return of the melody is very effective and rather beautiful. Two of the three pieces op.15, the opening rêverie and final Au soir are songs without words, rêverie developing into a duet and au soir becoming a flowing barcarolle. Between them is an intermezzo-mazurka, something of a fantasy in several different sections that would fit well with the danses humoresques. It owes little to Chopin’s mazurkas but it still has drama and a clear narrative with the mournful little melody that threads its way through the piece.

Both of the two caprices have real character and, especially in the first, quirky humour. This jaunty piece pays homage to the French clavecinists with its buoyant themes that grow more complex as the piece develops. The second is a virtuoso toccata-come-moto perpetuo that brings baroque contrapuntal writing up to date and provides a workout for the pianist that Garwoliński handles with aplomb. They were dedicated to his principle piano teacher, the great Louis Diémer. The five miniatures were written at the turn of the century, on the 90^th anniversary of Chopin’s birth. This beautiful set comprises an album-leaf that would be welcomed amongst Mendelssohn’s songs with words and a moments musicaux whose haunting little melody is accompanied by a left hand ostinato rhythm that lends an uneasy touch, dissipating as the music moves to the major key. The sparkling little arabesque may be in A major and feature arpeggios and three-against-two rhythms but it is from a less impressionist world than Debussy’s famous arabesque that shares those features and though the next piece, a barcarolle, may start modestly it develops quite a complexity of rhythm and harmony and has some interesting watery figuration with descending seconds. The final piece, a mazurka was recorded by Stojowski himself as part of a radio broadcast; he adapts the work quite a bit and the second half is almost a fantasy on the original with a virtuoso flourish to close. Garwoliński is of course faithful to the score and gives this delightful work a lilting and elegant performance. He closes with the Polish Idylls of 1901 dedicated to another giant of French pianism, Eduard Risler. These are descriptive pieces, more advanced in scope and harmony, showing the genesis of the changes that were to come with works like his Aspiration op.39. Still firmly rooted in romantic language some of this piquancy of harmony can be ascribed to the Polish folk music that is hinted at throughout the set. The first is Einsamket, solitude which is a wistfully melancholy serenade with its enigmatic accompaniment, gently strummed or plucked. It is followed by a jaunty reapers’ call, an energetic dance and the flirtatious village coquette, dancing and entrancing in krakowiak rhythms while Tanz vision is a boisterous mazurka, all the more rustic for its slightly off diatonic harmony. The set and recital ends with festival memories full of sudden changes from the grand fanfare to an innocent little polka, full of running figuration and moments of thoughtful recollection.

Garwoliński impresses once again, seeming to capture the spirit and mood of Stojowski’s imagination and flair with ease and bringing a sense of enjoyment to the process. Stojowski’s music has suffered the fate of so many late romantic composers, fading into obscurity as the music world changed around them and it is high time that his beautifully idiomatic music is heard once more.

Rob Challinor