The Polish Radio Music Festival, which has just ended in Warsaw, contributed much to a re-discovery of several of Poland’s largely forgotten composers.
Michał Kubicki reports
Titled ‘Emigres’, the event focused on the music of composers from Poland and other countries who, in the 19th and 20th centuries, worked far from their homeland, either forced to emigrate for political reasons or having settled abroad out of their free will. They include Chopin, who left Poland at the age of 20 and spent the rest of his life mostly in France, Feliks Janiewicz, who made a name for himself in France and England, Zygmunt Stojowski, who spent most of his life in the United States, as well as Henryk Wars, the composer of popular songs and film music who made a career in Hollywood.
Interestingly enough, their works were performed by foreign musicians. The German violinist Albrecht Breuninger, who’s been interested in Polish music for quite some time, performed the Second Violin Concerto by Feliks Janiewicz, who died in Edinburgh in 1848: ‘It’s a very interesting mixture because on the one hand it reminds me of the lyricism of the Mozart concerti but it’s much more spiced with virtuoso elements.’
Hailed throughout Europe as one of Poland's most outstanding composers at the fin de siecle, Zygmunt Stojowski has slipped into oblivion in today's musical world, even in his native Poland. He died in the United States in 1946 at the age of 76. During the Polish Radio Festival, his Second Piano Concerto was performed by the British pianist Jonathan Plowright: ‘I came across this music in the library of the Royal Academy of Music in London. I like the melodies very much and also the harmonies are very interesting. He has a very interesting way of writing melodies. They are very long. Normally, you have 4- or 6-bar melodies. Sometimes in his melodies Stojowski goes in an unusual direction. You get this feeling of timelessness as if the melody just continues and continues.’
Another émigré Polish composer featured at the festival was Henryk Wars known primarily for his popular songs and film soundtracks, he also wrote symphonic poems, a ballet, a concertino for piano and orchestra and a symphony which was premiered during the Festival. Wars settled in the States in 1947 and composed for such stars as Bing Crosby and Doris Day. He died in 1977. His grandson came to Warsaw for the festival and was delighted to collect the Order of Reborn Poland which was bestowed posthumously on the composer by the Polish President.