Grażyna Bacewicz - Sonatas for Violin & Piano (Piotr Pławner; Ewa Kupiec)

Information

Composer: Grażyna Bacewicz

CD1

• Partita
• Violin Sonata No. 5
• Humoreske. Vivace
• Kołysanka. Moderator
• Violin Sonata No. 4
• Witraż. Andante
• Violin Sonata No. 1 'Sonata da camera'
• Melodia. Andante

CD2

• Violin Sonata No. 3
• Violin Sonata No. 4
• 2 Oberki
• Concertino
• Caprice. Presto
• Thema mit Variationen. Allegro energico
• 3 Tänze

Piotr Pławner, violin

Ewa Kupiec, piano

Date: 2006

Label: Hänssler

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Review

In the business of summing up the resultant hierarchy of what matters most in twentieth century musical literature, the violin music of Grazyna Bacewicz might gain consideration only as representing rather exotic repertoire, and this shouldn't be so. Bacewicz was an expert violin soloist who was a well-known commodity in postwar Europe; she won the Olympic music competition in London in 1949, the UNESCO prize in 1960, and captured the Belgian Reine-Elisabeth prize three times. Bacewicz's compositional output for violin and piano is of the first tier and is exceptionally notable in that in stylistic terms it remains recognizably modern, but stands outside trends current in Bacewicz's time. The word neo-Classical is sometimes applied to describe it, and she did study with Nadia Boulanger, but this superficial evaluation suits Bacewicz's music rather uncomfortably; one could say it's vaguely like Bartók, but draws from Polish folk material and even that qualification only weakly describes its effect. It's energetic and a little showy in fast movements and expressive, yet a little cool, in slower ones, fits the violin like a glove, and always leaves a distinct impression. It is very important violin literature, and there's never been so much of it offered in a single-CD package as in this two-disc set from Hänssler Classic, Grazyna Bacewicz: Sonatas for Violin and Piano.

Piotr Plawner is a young violinist who is, as Bacewicz was, a native of Lodz. Plawner adapts easily to the varied technical and expressive hurdles encountered in Bacewicz's violin music; he is hushed and mysterious in the early piece Witraz (Stained Glass Windows, 1932), dazzlingly propulsive in the Finale of the Sonata No. 2, and obviously enjoys such challenges as the leaps, pizzicato, and glissandi employed in Bacewicz's folk-like Two Oberki (1951). Plawner lavishes as much care on Bacewicz's lighter short pieces such as the Concertino (1945) -- which consists of three movements that take less than five minutes to play -- to weightier music as the five sonatas, all of which are included here. Occasional short pieces scattered throughout the program add depth to Bacewicz's violin output but do not betray any sense of forward development in her style, the essentials being the same whether the music comes from 1952 or 1932.

The breaks between pieces are rather long and the recording is rather dry and a little on the quiet side. Pianist Ewa Kupiec, who does turn in a strong performance here (though one wonders how Plawner's regular piano partner, Krystian Zimerman, might have fared in this material) is credited everywhere on this above Plawner by Hänssler Classic. But make no mistake; he's the star of the show here. Everyone who enjoys twentieth century violin music owes it to themselves to discover Bacewicz' music, and this is a terrific option for it and the most generous in terms of programming. Nevertheless, it doesn't entirely supplant the excellent Chandos recording of some of this music by Joanna Kurkowicz and Gloria Chien; Kurkowicz is just as facile and exciting in the music, and the recording quality of the Chandos is better, which makes a difference.

— Uncle Dave Lewis

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Grażyna Bacewicz (5 February 1909 – 17 January 1969) was a Polish composer and violinist of Lithuanian origin. Educated in Łódź, Warsaw and Paris, she studied composition with Kazimierz Sikorski and Nadia Boulanger and violin with prominent teachers including Carl Flesch. She achieved early recognition as a performer and later devoted herself primarily to composition and teaching. Bacewicz produced a substantial body of neoclassical music, with particular emphasis on violin and string repertoire, including seven violin concertos and seven string quartets. Her works received numerous international and national awards.

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Piotr Pławner (born 17 March 1974) is a Polish violinist. He made his orchestral debut at age nine and won several international competitions, including the Wieniawski and the ARD Music Competitions. He has performed with leading orchestras across Europe, the Middle East and the United States, earning widespread critical acclaim. Pławner is noted for championing Polish composers through acclaimed recordings and premieres of lesser-known works. He has received numerous awards, including the Gloria Artis Medal and the Fryderyk Award. Alongside performing, he currently teaches at the Lutoslawski Conservatory in Cracow.

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Ewa Kupiec (born 2 November 1964) is a Polish pianist and Professor at the Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien Hannover. She studied in Katowice, Warsaw and London, and gained international recognition after winning the 1992 ARD International Music Competition. Her career has included performances at major festivals and collaborations with distinguished conductors. Kupiec's discography includes 38 CDs featuring works by composers such as Chopin, Schubert, Dvořak, Enescu, Szymanowski and Lutosławski. Her recordings have received major awards from the ICMA, Fryderyk and Echo Klassik.

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