Zygmunt Stojowski - Symphony; Suite for Orchestra (Antoni Wit)

Information

Composer: Zygmunt Stojowski

• Symphony in D Minor, Op. 21
• Suite for Large Orchestra in E-Flat Major, Op. 9

Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz

Antoni Wit, conductor

Date: 2022

Label: Capriccio

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Review

It is not difficult to guess why Zygmunt (sometimes Sigismond) Stojowski’s Symphony in D minor, Op 21 (1898) failed to build on initial success in Germany and his native Poland. The idea that new music ought to be ‘progressive’ has a lot to answer for and the composer-pianist’s uncertain dates (1869 or 1870-1946) straddle very different eras. Where Szymanowski (1882-1937) begins with Richard Strauss, Stojowski leans on older 19th-century models. French-educated from the age of 18 (Delibes was his teacher) and a New Yorker from his mid-thirties, Stojowski could be traduced as a citizen of nowhere. His illustrious students included Shura Cherkassky, Oscar Levant, Alfred Newman and Guiomar Novaes, but his compositional efforts receded into the shadows.

Ably championed by Jonathan Plowright, Stojowski’s piano concertos caused a belated stir in our own postmodern times (Hyperion, 6/02), while the present Suite in E flat, Op 9 (1891) is one of a number of works subsequently made available on disc (Dux, 2/09). The Symphony may be less familiar but certainly merits comparable exposure. Cast in the conventional four movements, it was dedicated to Ignacy Jan Paderewski, another mentor, and included in the first concert ever given by the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra in 1901. There is no striving for profundity and I find it more deftly structured and colourfully orchestrated than many late Romantic utterances still in the repertoire. The problem, if such it be, is the relative anonymity of the material. The tunes aren’t as memorable or even as ‘national’ as those of Rachmaninov, Myaskovsky or Elgar, although admirers of those symphonists will find some surprising pre-echoes alongside the customary vestiges of Wagner’s Tristan. Brahms, Franck, Saint-Saëns, Dvořák and the Russians loom larger. A supercharged echt-Polish live performance under Łukasz Borowicz is not difficult to find online. Still, no one is likely to be disappointed by Antoni Wit’s expertly drilled, eminently musical studio alternative.

The Suite sounds more obstinately Polish, a compositional breakthrough compromised to some extent by the deaths of several potential champions. Tchaikovsky lived long enough to programme if not actually conduct the Suite and dedicatee Hans von Bülow only just managed to direct it. Various London outings included a performance at the 1915 benefit concert that also yielded the premiere of Elgar’s Polonia. Then, until lately, oblivion, but why? Stojowski’s first movement consists of well-crafted variations on a Marian hymn; the second is an ‘Intermède polonaise’ that could pass as a mazurka by Delibes. Perhaps the finale never quite delivers the big tune it seems to promise yet it proves quirky enough to sustain the interest of any open-minded listener. Shortly before his death Brahms was reportedly wowed by the Suite’s imaginative scoring. Capriccio supplies helpful contextual annotations and the sound is good.

— David Gutman

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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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Antoni Wit (born 7 February 1944) is a Polish conductor. Educated in conducting at the Academy of Music in Kraków and in Paris under Nadia Boulanger, he also holds a law degree from Jagiellonian University. Following success at the Herbert von Karajan Conducting Competition, he led major Polish orchestras, serving as director of the Warsaw Philharmonic from 2001 to 2013 and later as music director of Spain's Orquesta Sinfónica de Navarra. Wit has made over 200 records, earning numerous international awards, including a GRAMMY Award, for his acclaimed interpretations of Polish and classical repertoire.

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