Ignacy Jan Paderewski; Zygmunt Stojowski - Works for Piano and Orchestra (Jonathan Plowright)

Information

Composer: Ignacy Jan Paderewski; Zygmunt Stojowski

• Stojowski - Symphonic Rhapsody for Piano and Orchestra, Op. 23
• Paderewski - Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 17
• Paderewski - Nocturne in B major, Op. 16 No. 4

Jonathan Plowright, piano

Sinfonia Iuventus

Łukasz Borowicz, conductor

Date: 2017

Label: Warner Classics

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Review

With the centenary of Polish independence this year, we are likely to hear more of Jan Paderewski (1860-1941), the virtuoso pianist-composer who was a signatory to the Treaty of Versailles and served as Poland’s first prime minister. His magnificent Piano Concerto (1888) has never quite disappeared and virtuosos have recorded it; outstanding versions include those by Earl Wild, Barbara Hesse-Bukowska, Kevin Kenner and Nelson Goerner, and perhaps significantly the work appeared (played by Piers Lane) on Vol. 1 of Hyperion’s now epic Romantic Piano Concerto series.

Here Jonathan Plowright cements his already proven connection to Paderewski’s music with an invigorating performance, showing stamina for the long first movement and poetic sense in the central ‘Romanza’. If he lacks the full cultivation and insouciance that makes Kenner (on Dux) perhaps the finest exponent of all, the orchestral performance under Łukas Borowicz is as good as any and the recorded sound is vivid. Paderewski’s popular Nocturne in B flat major rounds the disc off as a quietly consoling encore.

Both Plowright and Borowicz have previously recorded Zygmunt Stojowski (1870-1946) for Hyperion; here they collaborate on the world premiere recording of his Symphonic Rhapsody. Completed in 1900, five years before Stojowski emigrated to America, the music inhabits a world not far from that of Rachmaninov, without matching all that composer’s sweep. These performers make exciting work of its episodic nature, with Plowright again showing the expressive power of virtuosity.

— John Allison

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Ignacy Jan Paderewski (6 November 1860 – 29 June 1941) was a Polish pianist, composer and statesman. He studied music in Warsaw, Berlin and Vienna, and gained international fame with his performances in major cities like Vienna, Paris, London and New York. Celebrated for his passionate interpretations of Chopin, Bach, Beethoven and Schumann, he inspired deep devotion from his audiences. Despite a demanding touring schedule, he composed over 70 works, including the opera Manru and a symphony. A dedicated patriot, Paderewski served as Poland's prime minister and signed the Treaty of Versailles in 1919.

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Zygmunt Stojowski (4 May 1870 – 5 November 1946) was a Polish pianist and composer. He studied in Kraków and at the Paris Conservatoire before moving to the United States in 1905, where he built a distinguished career as a performer and teacher. He composed extensively for piano, chamber ensembles and orchestra; notable works including a symphony, two piano concertos, a violin concerto and the cantata Spring. His late-Romantic style combined European influences with Polish musical traditions. Stojowski's music has experienced renewed interest through recent recordings, publications and performances.

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Jonathan Plowright (born 1959 in Yorkshire) is an English classical pianist. He studied with Alexander Kelly at the Royal Academy of Music in London, and with Julio Esteban at the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore. Plowright has performed worldwide as recitalist, appeared with leading orchestras and ensembles, made many commercial recordings and appeared on radio and TV broadcasts. He champions neglected music from Polish Romantic composers, such as Zygmunt Stojowski, Ignacy Jan Paderewski and Juliusz Zarębski, which he has recorded for Hyperion Records and Warner Classics.

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