Alla Polacca!
Książek Piano Duo
Recording details not provided
Polskie Radio PRCD2461 [72]
Józef Elsner was born in Grodków to a German instrument maker and began his studies in Wrocław. His first engagements were in Brno and then Lwów before settling in Warsaw in 1799 where he became chief conductor at the National Theatre and taught at the Lyceum. His output was quite extensive; apart from a large number of sacred choral works including thirty masses, there are ballets, thirty plus stage works, symphonies and chamber works. His name as a composer is beginning to emerge from the shadow of his fame as teacher of Chopin but he is still far from a household name. Happily the Książek Piano Duo introduce us to the seven works that he produced for piano four hands including his attractive sonata in B flat major; attractive certainly and though nothing to set the world alight any of these would be an pleasant addition to the four hand repertoire for those, amateur and professional who still enjoy the genre. At the time they were written these would have been very popular for domestic music making with piano writing that is neither too simple nor overly challenging technically. None of these pieces by Elsner are dated though the booklet notes suggest that they were written in the very early years of the 19th century, probably before 1805. Stylistically they are very classical, with the sparkle of Mozart and Haydn. The sonata is in three movements, the first of which is introduced by a brief dramatic introduction before making its way in standard sonata form. After a modest Andante there is an elegantly frothy Rondo all polacca, for me the most interesting movement; it makes a nice introduction to the six polonaises that follow. The Polonaise is possibly the most familiar of Poland’s national dances and it was as popular at social events as minuets, waltzes or polkas were in other countries. Its characteristic triple time rhythm and energy carried its popularity far and wide and composers from Bach and Beethoven to Tchaikowsky, Scriabin and beyond wrote polonaises and works in the style, alla polacca. Polish composers wrote many and in the early years of the 19th century the market was flooded with them trying to satisfy a domestic market eager for fresh music and to fuel the waves of patriotism for a country suffering so much upheaval. Elsner’s are nicely done and have as much interest for the listener as well as the performer, not always the case with these simple, generally two section dances. I particularly like the polonaise based on the march from Cherubini’s opera Les deux journées; the opera’s tale of revolution would have added to its appeal at the time.
Chopin’s Variations in D major on a theme of Thomas Moore is more familiar than the other works on this disc though it is hardly mainstream. It was written when Chopin was 16 and remained in fragmentary manuscript form until pianist Jan Ekier reconstructed it in the 1960s. The theme, very similar to the famous Carneval de Venise, is actually from Naples and is a song called La Ricciolella – the curl is the only translation I can find, presumably the curly haired girl who is the subject of the singer’s serenade. Irish poet Thomas Moore’s contribution was merely adding English words to the melody which appeared in a volume of Popular National Airs from 1818. Chopin had played Ferdinand Ries’s set of four hand variations on the same song and decided to try his hand at the theme…it can’t have hurt that it also gave him more of an excuse to join Ludwika Dziewanowska at the keyboard. The result is highly effective and entertaining even if it doesn’t challenge his later variations that so impressed Schumann. The theme comes after a dramatic introduction and is followed by five variations that require a skilled amateur, especially in the primo part.
Ignacy Feliks Dobrzyński was another Elsner pupil though he has been utterly overshadowed by his once classmate Chopin. In time he founded his own orchestra and movements of his award winning C minor symphony were conducted by Felix Mendelssohn. Several of his piano works show that he must have been an extremely gifted pianist though the relatively modest Polonaise in D is perfect for domestic players. There are no great technical demands and it follows the usual format for these dances with an energetic and quite military sounding outer section with a more lyrical central section. The primo part here is altered slightly by the performers to bring a little more variety; the simple melody is first played straight then in tremolando octaves and then in trills in its final appearance. The rondo alla polacca op.6 is a very different beast. It appears to have been written around 1827 as a virtuoso piece for piano and orchestra though the booklet doesn’t mention this; Hofmeister’s published score of the concertante version has the words the rondo is also arranged for piano four hands in very small print on the title page. In the version recorded here the primo part is clearly the soloist with the accompaniment and some of the soloist’s left hand notes transferred to the secondo part. It is very much in the style of the flamboyant show-pieces of the day, similar in style to Hummel, Kalkrenner or indeed Chopin and it brings this excellent recital to a brilliant close.
It is wonderful to hear the Książek Piano Duo once again. I reviewed their Arensky/Rachmaninov disc (Dux1720 review) and a disc containing some of their first prize-winning performances at the Second Stanisław Moniuszko International Competition of Polish Music (DUX1857-1858 review) and this disc of rarities bursts with the same infectious energy. On this occasion they play an 1847 Broadwood piano which suits the music very well with a rich bass and even treble that shows off the often feather-light figuration; I’m not usually a huge fan of historic pianos but my ear adjusted very quickly in this instance and I enjoyed the recital immensely.
Rob Challinor
Availability: Polskie Radio
Contents
Józef Elsner (1769-1854)
Sonata in B flat major Op.16
Polonaise in C major
Polonaise in G major
Polonaise in F minor
Polonaise in E major on the theme of the overture from the opera Lodoiska by Rudolphe Kreutzer
Polonaise in E major on the march theme from the opera Les deux journées by Luigi Cherubini
Polonaise in G major on the theme of the French song Où peut-on être mieux qu’au sein de sa famille by André Grétry
Frédéric Chopin (1810-1849)
Variations in D major on a theme of Thomas Moore, WN.5 (reconstructed by Jan Ekier)
Ignacy Feliks Dobrzyński (1807-1867)
Polonaise in D major Op.3Rondo alla polacca Op.6
