Władysław Żeleński - Piano Works, Vol. 1 (Joanna Ławrynowicz)

Information

Composer: Władysław Żeleński

1. Deus Morceaux, Op. 63: No. 1, Toccata
2. Deus Morceaux, Op. 63: No. 2, Idylle
3. Ode to Youth, Op. 51
4. Marsz uroczysty for Piano, Op. 44
5. 2 Mazurkas, Op. 31 "À Madame Sophie Menteur": No. 1 in C sharp minor, Moderato
6. 2 Mazurkas, Op. 31 "À Madame Sophie Menteur": No. 2 in A major, Non troppo vivo, ma con gran brio
7. Piano Sonata No. 2 in E minor, Op. 20 "Seinem Freunde Stanislaus Tomkowicz": I. Allegro con moto
8. Piano Sonata No. 2 in E minor, Op. 20 "Seinem Freunde Stanislaus Tomkowicz": II. Adagio
9. Piano Sonata No. 2 in E minor, Op. 20 "Seinem Freunde Stanislaus Tomkowicz": III. Scherzo
10. Piano Sonata No. 2 in E minor, Op. 20 "Seinem Freunde Stanislaus Tomkowicz": IV. Allegro moderato

Joanna Ławrynowicz, piano

Date: 2005

Label: Acte Préalable

https://acteprealable.com/produkt/ap0124/

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Review

Jan Jarnicki’s admirable – one might say heroic - work in service of the great Polish musical heritage has already led him to publish scores of some of the compositions of Władislaw Żeleński. He has also issued at least two previous CDs entirely devoted to Żeleński – one containing organ preludes played by Julia Smykowska, the other a selection of songs performed by the soprano Anna Michalska-Przybysz and the pianist Malgorzata Wielgolinska. Now here is what is labelled as ‘Volume One’ of the Piano Works.

Żeleński was born near Krakow and it was there that he initially studied music, before advanced studies in Prague and Paris - finding time along the way to attain a doctorate in philosophy from the university of Prague. From 1881 he was director of the Conservatory in Krakow and a central figure in the musical life of the city – and the country – as composer, teacher and conductor. As a composer his works included at least four operas, choral compositions, a symphony, five string quartets and many songs, in addition to his works for solo piano.

On the present CD the young pianist Joanna Ławrynowicz plays – with considerable insight – both small and large-scale works by Żeleński. The programme includes his second piano sonata, a work dedicated to Stanislaus Tomkowicz, one of the great historians of Krakow. This is a substantial piece in four movements, on the classical pattern. It is well made and polished, if perhaps a bit longer than it need be. The first movement has some attractive themes handled in orthodox sonata form. The adagio is a set of mostly rather stately variations, the scherzo has some interesting writing for the left hand. There is some adroit fugal writing in the final allegro. The whole is firmly in the classical/romantic tradition of the second half of the nineteenth century. It is enjoyable listening without being especially individual – one hears echoes of other composers and nothing happens to make one sit up in surprise.

The smaller-scale works elsewhere on the CD similarly suggest a composer with a pleasant gift for lyrical melodies and a ‘correct’, rather conventional harmonic sense. Tracks 3 and 4 consist of two somewhat solemn pieces which come close to overstaying their welcome. The Toccata which opens the programme entertainingly juxtaposes insistently rhythmic figures and a lyric grace. The Idyll is appropriately dreamy and suggestive and is presented affectionately and convincingly by Ławrynowicz. One is perhaps most aware of the shadow of Chopin in the two Mazurkas, particularly in the sentimentality of the shorter piece in C sharp minor; the second is perhaps the more interesting, in which a heroic theme frames an extended passage of quiet mysteriousness.

The music on this CD is not, perhaps, such as to make the blood race. It is not keyboard writing which demands fireworks from the soloist – though it is, in places, demanding enough. It isn’t music that startles or surprises by its individuality. But Żeleński is thoroughly at home in his chosen idiom and anyone fond of the piano music of this period will surely find things to enjoy in what is on offer here.

-- Glyn Pursglove, MusicWeb International

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Władysław Żeleński (6 July 1837 – 23 January 1921) was a Polish composer, pianist and organist. Żeleński was born in Grodkowice. He was a representative of neoromanticism in Polish music. Since early days Żeleński showed interest in chamber music. While in secondary school, he wrote two quartets and a trio that, however, have not survived to our times. Later chamber pieces: Sextet in C major, Op. 9 and Wariacje na temat własny (Variations on an Original Theme) for string quartet, Op. 29 Żeleński composed while studying first in Prague and later in Paris. He died in Kraków.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W%C5%82adys%C5%82aw_%C5%BBele%C5%84ski_(composer)

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Polish pianist Joanna Ławrynowicz was born in Warsaw and graduated from the Fryderyk Chopin Music Academy (now Chopin University of Music). She is a prize winner of many prestigious international piano competitions, and has appeared as a soloist and chamber musician in Europe, Asia, the Americas, and New Zealand. Ławrynowicz prides herself on enormous discography: she has already recorded over 30 albums for Acte Préalable, and is the only Polish artist has ever recorded a complete set of solo and chamber works by Frédéric Chopin. Her albums are highly appreciated by music lovers and critics alike.

http://www.english.lawrynowicz.info/

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