Grazyna Bacewicz for Strings

Grazyna Bacewicz: Music for String Orchestra

Grazyna Bacewicz wrote wonderful music for string orchestra, and it has shown up, in various combinations, in quite a few CDs in the past ten years. Here's a new disc from Poland with a full program of some of the Polish composer's best music.

Stefan Kisielewski called the Concerto for String Orchestra, from 1948,  "a modern Brandenburg Concerto" - it really is a masterpiece of the neoclassical idiom. The conductor Lukasz Blaszczyk and the Primuz Chamber Orchestra bring a lighter touch to this work than either of the other performances I know, discs from Naxos and Hyperion.  This brings with it a certain loss of majesty; overall this is an accomplished if slightly superficial interpretation. 

I prefer this performance of the Symphony for String Orchestra from 1946; Kisielewski hasn't smoothed out any of Bacewicz's rough edges here. There is plenty of rough energy in the opening movement, and the pathos of the second movement Adagio is quite moving. The passacaglia-like third movement Allegretto is one of Bacewicz's most impressive inspirations, flirting with positive feelings, veering into sorrow and despair, and ending with quiet resignation. The Theme and Variations finale starts slow, quiet and gloomy, then slowly builds to more energetic and dramatic passages. I like how Kisielewski has structured this entire Symphony; it has a satisfying arc here.

The rest of the disc is filled with an early work, the Sinfonietta from 1935, and a late one, the Divertimento from 1965 (Bacewicz died in 1969). These two pieces demonstrate her evolution from a relatively uncomplicated neoclassicism to a much more advanced and difficult approach to composition. I love the Divertimento, but I'm afraid this version is outclassed by another recent recording, from the Amadeus Chamber Orchestra of Polish Radio under Agnieszka Duczmal.

A mixed bag, then; an outstanding Symphony, with perfectly serviceable but not top class Concerto, Sinfonietta and Divertimento. How gratifying that the Grazyna Bacewicz discography is getting large enough that we can begin to make these distinctions, rather than just be happy to have one or two recordings!

I happened to finish this review on Grazyna Bacewicz's birthday; she was born on February 5, 1909. I love this portrait by Irena Jarosińska, from 1968, the year before the composer died.

This album was released on February 3, 2023. 

Spirited and authentic piano concertos

Grazyna Bacewicz Piano Concerto; Alexandre Tansman Piano Concerto no. 1

I never (okay, I rarely) get tired of Rachmaninov, Brahms and Beethoven Piano Concertos, but I often think that perhaps it's time to expand the repertoire with a few fresh pieces. Here are two that fit the bill, beautifully played by the marvellous young Polish pianist Julia Kociuban. Alexandre Tansman's Piano Concerto no. 1 is from 1925; he wrote a second two years later, the year he turned thirty. It has every evidence of Tansman's melodic gift, which was to serve him well in his Hollywood years during WWII. But what it mainly sounds like is Modernist Paris, the fresh and lively milieu of Ravel and Stravinsky. At this point his music isn't especially Polish. It's telling that Honegger and Milhaud pressed him to join Les Six; he declined because he wanted to maintain his independence. But this Concerto at least would fit in perfectly with the avant garde French group's music of the day.

Grazyna Bacewicz also spent time in Paris, studying in the 1930s with Nadia Boulanger. However, her Piano Concerto, from 1949, is very much Polish in style, with folkloric sounds and Polish dances. Again, Kociuban is outstanding in both the virtuoso passages as well as more contemplative ones. She knows Bacewicz's music well, having played the great Piano Sonata no. 2 in the 2015 International Tchaikovsky Competition. She receives spirited and completely authentic support in both works from the  Łódź-based Arthur Rubinstein Philharmonic Orchestra. Both Tansman and Bacewicz are Łódź natives. Plus, how often does an orchestra named after a great piano virtuoso get to play piano concertos? What a marvellous recording!

The healing and inspirational power of music

BBC Radio 3 has a great program called Through the Night which begins every day after midnight (12:30 on weekdays, 1 am on weekends), running, well, through the night. They play great music from recorded concerts, mainly from Europe, and for some reason the playlist nearly always includes music I enjoy listening to. The theme for the program is one that I've always loved; it's the hauntingly beautiful Madrigal Nocturne from Darius Milhaud's Cheminee du Roi suite. This CD isn't up yet on Spotify, so I'll post this version by the Athena Ensemble so you can listen while you read the rest of this review:



Isn't that lovely? And so sad. I always think of insomniacs and shut-ins being comforted by the music. It sets the stage so beautifully for the healing and inspirational power of music to follow, even here on Canada's west coast, where Through the Night begins at 4:30 in the afternoon.

The Warsaw-based Gruppo di Tempera is made up of a wind quintet (flute, clarinet, oboe, horn and bassoon) plus piano. They've put together a great program of French music that often partakes of the Madrigal Nocturne's nostalgically sad but hopeful sound, but then, in the French way, quickly changes in turn to satire, mock pomp and ceremony, and sheer nervous energy. This Dux CD, due to be released on Amazon on March 11, 2016, is recommended for its cleverly designed program, the ebullience of the playing and the clarity of the sound.