Grażyna Bacewicz's youthful Scherzo for piano (1934) seems to allude to the name of the genre itself (scherzo means ‘joke’ in Italian), although this has not always been the rule; many scherzos, whether conceived as independent works or as movements of sonatas or symphonies, are instead marked by a serious or even dramatic character. In Bacewicz’s composition, lively motion, unexpected accents, dynamic contrasts and sudden twists immediately catch the listener's attention. All these features are superbly highlighted by Krzysztof Urbański’s colourful orchestration, closely reflecting the style of Bacewicz's works from that period, giving a new dimension to a work that is once again finding its place on the concert stage.
It is hard to believe that Edward Elgar’s Cello Concerto in E minor was not a success at its premiere in 1919 and for many years was performed only occasionally. It was only the inspired 1965 recording by the young Jacqueline du Pré that did justice to this unjustly neglected masterpiece and marked the beginning of the revival of Elgar's music. Composed under the impact of the traumatic experiences of the Great War, this elegiac work is technically demanding without relying on displays of virtuosity. It commands admiration for the richness of its thematic invention, its distinctive harmonic colouring and, above all, the depth of its emotional expression.
Piotr Maculewicz
Antonín Dvořák’s Symphony No. 9 in E minor ‘From the New World’, Op. 95, is surely one of the best-known musical postcards of the late Romantic era, judging by how often it continues to be ‘reproduced’ today. The Czech composer created a deeply moving and compelling musical impression of his stay in the United States – still the New World from the perspective of Europeans at the time. Some of the Symphony’s distinctive and instantly memorable themes grew out of the composer’s fascination with the traditions of multicultural America, in which he saw a source of inspiration for the music of the future.
Bartłomiej Gembicki
