LEGACY OF POLISH MUSIC ABROAD AT THREE GLANCES - INVITATION ...
←
→
Page content transcription
If your browser does not render page correctly, please read the page content below
LEGACY OF POLISH MUSIC ABROAD AT THREE GLANCES
PRESENTED BY ARTISTIC FOUNDATION CONCENTUS PRO ARTE
,
POLISH LANDSCAPES
October 2, 2018 | 8 PM
Joanna Okoń
Katarzyna Glensk
,‚
LANDOWSKA IN MEMORIAM
October 3, 2018 | 8 PM
Władysław Kłosiewicz
,,‚
LOVE WILL FOREGIVE YOU
ANYTHING
October 4, 2018 | 8 PM
Kuba Stankiewicz American Trio
MARKING 100 YEARS OF POLISH INDEPENDENCE
The goal of the INVITATION Festival is to showcase the music of forgotten artists associated with Poland from the first half
of the twentieth century, in all its diversity and richness. Three insights into the Polish musical life of this period allow us to
become aware of the role and importance of Polish heritage in the field of „contemporary” music, in the researching and
popularizing of „old music”, and the discerning of Jazz as the „music of the future”.
The name of the project is taken from the Jazz composition by Bronisław Kaper of the same title. Bronisław Kaper, along with
Henryk Wars and Victor Young (a Jazz protégé, a graduate of the Warsaw Conservatory of Music, and a legendary composer
of standards), all of whom are artists whose works are performed by some of the world’s greatest jazz musicians. However, in
popular perception, these Jazz artists are rarely associated with Poland. Instead, they are simply linked with really smart Jazz
standards. Meanwhile, this beautiful music is not only a part of Polish culture, but a source of inspiration for future generations:
the basis for artistic exploration; and a Polish contribution to the world’s cultural heritage.
There are more examples, such as the fine compositions for violin and piano of little-known Polish composers from the first
decades of the 20th century; largely forgotten names such as Godowski, Poldowski, Achron, Mistowski, Adamowski, Niemczyk
and Weinberg - lost pearls of chamber music.
Wanda Landowska, who was an outstanding Polish harpsichordist, laid the foundations for research into Old music, coupled
with an informed conception of its recital. Her pioneering activities, together with her development of the „historically informed
performance” of Renaissance and Baroque music, are rarely linked. What is more, Landowska’s associations with Poland have
also been largely forgotten, even though Lewandowska would always emphasise her Polishness, particularly whenever she
played the works of 17th-century Polish composers in the US.
It is hoped that our INVITATION Festival, held over the course of three concerts, will allow for an in-depth presentation and
promotion of the hidden treasures of Polish culture in what is one the world’s most prestigious concert venues.
During this festival, we shall celebrate the best of Polish culture, with Polish music that is awaiting rediscovery. What a beautiful
paradox!
We look forward to Carnegie Hall resounding with the melodies of the very best of Poland’s musical traditions.
F i n a n c e d fro m t he fu nd s of the M inistry of C u l tu re an d N a tio nal Her itage o f Po l and, within the s co p e o f the Multiannua l Prog r am
I N D E P E ND ENT 2 0 1 7 -2 0 2 1 , as part of the “Cultur al Br idges ” s ub s idy p ro gr a m o f the Ada m Mickiewicz Ins titute
,
POLISH LANDSCAPES
Joanna Okoń violin
Katarzyna Glensk piano
October 2, 2018 | 8 PM
Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall
PIOTR MASZYNSKI ( 1855- 1934 ) ROMANS
ZOFIA OSSENDOWSKA ( 1887-1943 ) HILDAGO E GITANA
WACŁAW NIEMCZYK ( 1907 -? ) VALSE CAPRICE
STANISŁAW LIPSKI ( 1880-1937 ) IMPROVISATION OP. 10
ALFRED MISTOWSKI ( 1872- 1964 ) GIGUE
LEOPOLD GODOWSKI ( 1870- 1938 ) ALT-WIEN ( ARR. JASCHA HEIFETZ )
ADAM WIENIAWSKI ( 1879- 1950 ) ORIENTALE
POLDOWSKI ( REGINE WIENIAWSKI ) ( 1879-1932 ) TANGO
TYMOTEUSZ ADAMOWSKI ( 1858-1943 ) MAZUR
JOSEPH ACHRON ( 1886-1943 ) HEBREW MELODY
MIECZYSŁAW WEINBERG ( 1919-1996 ) RHAPSODY ON MOLDAVIAN THEMES OP 47 NR 3
It is hard to account for the reason why some music pieces are remembered when others are forgotten, or indeed why sometimes composers fall out of favour with performers, whereas others remain lights forever shining in the firmament. No ready explanation will ever fully account for this injustice. And perhaps it is better left like this. Without delving into what is a complicated mechanism which directs the collective memory, when it comes to music, states of forgottenness or restoration ebb and flow. Indeed, in terms of this evening’s concert, the entire exploration of old music grew out of the dreams of revival. This was the dream of one person being able to „mine” the „neglected” canon, looking to do away with the cliché of the so- called „fixed repertoire”. Tonight celebrates the neglected canon, and many such gems are also awaiting discovery. When on 29 April 1943 Joseph Achron died at the age of 57, Arnold Schoenberg in his obituary referred to Achron as „one of the most underrated composers of our time”. He expressed the hope that Achron’s music would remain a part of the living repertoire. However, precisely the opposite obtained. Achron’s works would remain forgotten for several decades. A similar fate was met by other artists who should today occupy a prominent place among the assemblage of Poland’s most renowned composers; figures such as Mieczysław Weinberg, and the group „kleine Meister”, whose outstanding achievements should be remembered because of the challenging historical context in which they forged their artistic lives. The fates of these „Pleiades of the compositional world” were also mixed. Indeed, their fates reflected both the personal calculations that people made at the time, and the historical turmoil in which they lived. Joseph Achron, born near Suwałki, and Leopold Godowski, born in Żoślach in Lithuania, grew up in a time when the tsarist rule of Russia had spread from the Vistula to Vladivostok. They would both emigrate in later life to the United States. Tymoteusz Adamowski, a Warsaw native, chose a similar path. Wacław Niemczyk distinguished himself as an insurgent and cultural activist in occupied Poland only to flee to England in 1946, keeping his intentions a secret even from his closest family. Mieczysław Weinberg, whereas, in the dramatic circumstances of September 1939, fled the Nazi onslaught to the Soviet Union. The youngest daughter of the great Henryk, largely unconcerned with totalitarian ideologies, Irena Regina Wieniawski led what could be described as an unfettered and serene life in the West. The activities of her cousin, Adam, saw his life being led along diametrically opposite lines, living as he did in a time before Poland had regained its independence, and then having lived through the interwar period and the early post-war ‘PRL’ years. Stanisław Lipski and Piotr Maszyński, in turn, made their mark by developing music pedagogy and building their reputation as concert performers during the Second Polish Republic. Alfred Mistowski and Zofia Ossendowska also added to the artistic exuberance of those times, although we happen to know relatively little about their lives. The eleven composers whose pieces make up this evening’s concert program do not belong to one stylistic group. That said, they do share traits and features: a clear rooting in nineteenth-century traditions, and a musical language which steers clear of revolutionary and avant-garde gestures. Nonetheless, there is no over-arching individual virtuosity that may be noted. After all, they are representatives of different generations. The oldest of them, Piotr Maszyński, was born in 1855, during the period when Liszt performed his first Piano Concerto under the direction of Hector Berlioz for the first time. The youngest of our
composers, Mieczysław Weinberg, was born six days before Ignacy Jan Paderewski had assumed the office of Prime Minister of the reborn Polish Republic. And so, they were shaped by various creative schools, educational profiles, artistic and life experiences. Yet maybe one trait holds sway over the rest, and which is readily discernible in these eleven songs, which is their having drawn on the traditions of folk music, in all its variety and possibilities. Tymoteusz Adamowski and Stanisław Lipski are forever linked to the rhythms and formulas of Polish national dances, and also the melodic and harmonic phrases known from folk stylizations. The lively Mazurian dance of Adamowski rolls along at a brisk tempo. It could even be described as fiery. The composer emphasized in his Mazurian dance the characteristic features of the Polish national dance; the tone gives the music a rhythm, shifting the accent to the second part of the bar, and with a line that is sharply outlined with respect to the opening motif. The middle part of this stylized miniature gives a strong sense of the lulling and melancholic Kujawiak dance. The spirit of the Mazurian dance, in turn, is guided by the central framework of Stanisław Lipski’s Improvisation, Opus 10. Following an enigmatic beginning, in this unbound composition by the student of Władysław Żeleński, the mood of an inspired „romance” is proposed, one that is both sweet and idyllic. Lipski harmoniously guides the listener along a path that sometimes turns quite violent, and then veers off in an unexpected direction. But at the end of this path (at the center of Improvisation), the song of the Polish Mazurian dance is to be found. A sentimental, sweet and carefree spirit dominates the gentle romance of Piotr Maszyński. Consistently, the melodic narrative of this miniature is led by the violin, although the piano contributes to the specific „splendor” of the whole. What is more, the composer looked to balance the early sweetness of the piece with a slightly more serious, opaque fragment; but at the end of the original, a sentimental motif reasserts itself, one which accords with the repertoire of that period. When in 1923 Irena Wieniawska (going by the artistic pseudonym of Poldowski) composed her Tango, little did she realise the impact it would have on the world of music. Since it had originated from the dubious dens and joints of Montevideo and Buenos Aires, it was associated mainly with the entertainment of the urban proletariat; as such, introducing tango to ballrooms was controversial and widely questioned. A decade earlier, The Times had made much of the obscenity of tango; and Pope Pius X had also made his condemnatory opinions known to one and all; being as it was a dance that oozed sinful sexuality. However, in the 1920s, nothing could prevent the growing popularity of tango: even the great Rudolf Valentino danced the tango in The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. When composing the Tango, Wieniawski, the composer of melodies to the lyrical wonders of French poetry (including the works of the poet Paul Verlaine), made recourse not only to fairly typical melodic phrases and the rhythm of Argentinian dance, but also to dissonance, coarseness, and intriguing timbre: all the while implying that the tango is not a “quaint piece” for young ladies from good homes. Maybe Poldowski was simply looking to be provocative and ruffle feathers, and this despite the passionate sweetness to be found in the middle episode. She certainly did not look to avoid erotic associations with this musical piece. These same associations are also to be found in the engaging „genre scenario” of Zofia Ossendowska’s Hidalgo e Gitana. A pupil of the great violinist, Stanisław Barcewicz, Ossendowska composed a piece which evokes the fiery Iberian temperament. The title
itself requires a romantic-like development: what are the young Nobleman and the sensual Gypsy saying to one another? It is just possible to imagine how their ideas coalesce around one another, and to discern the sensuality of their experience. Are they fated to enjoy felicitous lives together? The answer was also ‘encrypted’ in this concise musical story. Inspiration with an exotic land, maybe of eastern provenance, suggests the title of the work Orientale by Adam Wieniawski, which was composed in 1930. Here the moods of the work enjoy a paradoxical relationship with the musical culture of the Iberian Peninsula, most discernible in the uneasy final rhythm that endows the whole piece with its original hue. Of note also are Orientale’s harmony (without it the timbre of the piece would not be so exotic) and the intriguing melodic lines. Also fascinating is how the violin and piano complement and counterpoint one another. In contrast to this miniature piece, there is Alfred Mistowski’s Gigue, a simple, almost naïve musical piece, which is a typical „imagining” of a dance genre from centuries ago, perhaps even a baroque piece viewed through the lenses of the early twentieth century. Based on practically one idea, Gigue - being both light and condensed - seems like a miniature best played in one single sweep. Where Mistowski looked askance at the old music, Godowski and Niemczyk evoked a sentiment and longing for an epoch that had seen its end (and destruction) with the outbreak of the First World War – an end which had bid farewell to the world of the Viennese waltz. Alt-Wien „a master of piano key-play” – as James Huneker so described Godowski - seems to have possessed a kernel of this melancholic note, whereas Wacław Niemczyk’s Valse caprice was a celebration of virtuosity. Although the main theme may be associated with the bourgeois waltz, the virtuoso gesture of the beginning, clearly suggests the wider context. And so the theme of the waltz is intertwined with the technical difficulties of the title caprice. This longing for a lost world of Jewish Eastern European towns and the culture of their inhabitants is also reflected in the sounds of Joseph Achron’s music. This outstanding composer, who studied under Anatoly Liadov both at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory and later in the United States, had made his first musical steps under the guidance of his father in Warsaw. The 1911 Hebrew Melody was inspired by a melody which he had heard as a child in his local synagogue in Warsaw. Today the same Hebrew Melody can be found in the repertoire of every self-respecting violinist. As a student of Leopold Auer, Achron was fully aware of the possibilities of the violin; and he knew how to encapsulate the violin’s qualities in his compositions. At the beginning of the piece, the cadences take on a soothing sound, whereas in the centre of the piece these cadences take on aspects of virtuosity and drama, only to adorn the theme with pastel hues in the final part. In the full grandiosity of the Hebrew Melody, the violin and piano parts are given equal treatment, combining to create the colors of the piece. Both instruments „paint” a sound picture depicting the beauty and mysticism of Jewish music.
Though the unjustly forgotten works of Joseph Achron have been revisited by performers in recent years, this revival has
been eclipsed by the renaissance of Mieczysław Weinberg. Today it can be clearly seen that the pigeon-holing of Weinberg,
composer of The Lady Passenger, as an epigone of Dmitri Shostakovich was entirely unjust. It is true to say, however, that
the gifted young composer, who had escaped the Holocaust by fleeing to the Soviet Union, did find himself in the orbit of
Shostokovich’s influence: they enjoyed a close friendship for many years; and at one point Weinberg simply owed Shostokovich
his life.
However, in spite of his close association with the revered composer, Weinberg’s compositional style was forged on the basis
of its own idiomatic musical language. Weinberg composed the Rhapsody on Moldovian Themes, Opus 47 in 1949. In the
then Soviet Union, artistic freedom was a best-forgotten notion, and composers were forced to follow the rigid guidelines of
party officials, sentinels of the prevailing ideological orthodoxy. However, Rhapsody was no banal „production-line” piece
which accorded with the aesthetics of socialist realism.
Indeed, Weinberg quite ostentatiously used what can directly be associated with the music of Moldova or Bessarabia (his
mother’s family home). But these characteristic melodic phrases or typical „chants”, associated with Jewish folklore, merged
with the musical material, thus creating a universal context for these same melodies. Weinberg tried to balance the whole so
that they would not give the impression of being coarse quotes. Rhapsody on Moldavian Themes - a piece full of blushes, and
making recourse to sharp contrasts - exists today in two versions: the orchestral (Op. 47 No. 1); and for violin and piano (Op.47
No. 3). The premiere of the orchestral version took place with great success in 1950: the chamber version was presented to
the public in February 1953 by David Oistrakh. Apparently there was also a version of Rhapsody for violin with an orchestral
accompaniment. However, we would fail to find this in Op. 47 No. 2. Instead here we may find the suite of Polish melodies. So
it seems that Weinberg was a composer who in time would both fascinate and intrigue. But puzzles and intriguing questions
will always remain.
In the space occupied by violin composition in the late 19th and first half of the 20th century, it is possible to rediscover other
such noteworthy pieces. Perhaps the coming years will see more fascinating works being revived, and we will find ourselves
asking less about the forgotten works of collective memory, and celebrating what is a substantial musical legacy.
Marcin Majchrowski
,09
Joanna Okoń violin Joanna Okoń is an artist who hails from a family of esteemed musical traditions. As a child she performed recitals on concert stages, playing with her mother, the pianist Alina Jasielska-Okoń. She is a graduate of the Fryderyk Chopin Music Academy in Warsaw, where she completed her Masters under the supervision of prof. Janusz Kucharski; and post-graduate studies led by prof. Jan Stanieda. In 2012 Okoń completed her artistic apprenti- ceship under the guidance of Prof. Konstanty Andrzej Kulka. Okoń honed her craft and ear under the tutelage of the renowned violinist Marina Yashvili and during the annual International Orchestra Institute Attergau (Austria), where for several summer seasons she studied under such conductors as Sir Neville Marriner, Fabio Luisi, Shandor Vegh, Leopold Hager, and Heinrich Schiff. In 1991 she would win 1st prize at the Young Violinist competition in Warsaw, and in 1993, achieve 6th prize at the National Violin Competition in Elbląg. She has performed twice at the Karol Szymanowski International Music Festival in Zakopane and The International Festival of Contemporary Music in Kobe (Japan). Okoń has participated in the musical project „Myths”, organized by Jeunesses Musicales, and performed at the Little Theatre in Warsaw and the Witkacy Theatre in Zakopane. She has collaborated with such famous music groups as: Warszawscy Soliści Concerto Avenna [The Warsaw Soloists Concerto Avenna] under the artistic direction of Andrzej Mysiński and the Sinfonia Varsovia Orchestra, with which she continues to perform as a violinist. As a member of Sinfonia Varsovia Orchestra, Okoń has participated in renowned festivals in Gstaad (the Yehudi Menuhin Festi- val), Montreux, La Roque d ‚Antheron, Aix-en-Provence, Schleswig Holstein and many others, working with such conductors as Lorin Maazel, Charles Dutoit, Valery Gergiev, Emmanuel Krivine, Andres Mustonen, Krzysztof Penderecki , Marc Minkowski, Jerzy Semkow, Jerzy Maksymiuk, Grzegorz Nowak. During these concerts Okoń accompanied such soloists as Martha Ar- gerich, Boris Berezovsky, Renaud Capucon, Augustin Dumay, James Galway, Nigel Kennedy, Mischa Maisky, Anne-Sophie Mutter, Maria Joao Pires, Ivo Pogorelic, Piotr Anderszewski, and Rafał Blechacz. In 2018, Joanna Okoń and a „Pan Ton” quartet performed with David Krakauer at the International Festival of Jewish Music in Krakow, playing the quintet „Dybuk”, which had been composed by Wlad Marhulets especially for this occasion. With the pianist Katarzyna Glensk, Okoń has recorded unknown Polish works, which were subsequently released as a CD by the Ana- gram recording label. An important place in the artist’s life is pedagogical activity, as well as participating in concerts for children and young people organized by the National Philharmonic.
Katarzyna Glensk piano
Katarzyna Glensk is a talented Polish pianist, who performs both as a soloist and chamber musician. She has performed in the
United States, Russia and in many European countries. She has worked with the Chamber Stage of the National Philharmonic
in Warsaw, and regularly performs Chopin recitals. Glensk is also a frequently invited performer at music festivals.
Her father Teodor gave Katarzyna her first piano lessons. At the age of 6, she began studying at the Frederyk Chopin State Mu-
sic School in Opole. She later studied at the Fryderyk Chopin Academy of Music in Warsaw, attending piano classes conduc-
ted by Prof. Bronisława Kawalla and chamber music classes conducted by Prof. Maja Nosowska. Glensk continued her educa-
tion with postgraduate studies under the tuition of Prof. Jan Ekier and Prof. Bronisława Kawalla. She honed her piano craft as
a scholarship holder to Dartington College of Music and Arts followed by a scholarship to Trinity College of Music in London.
Glensk has won many awards and distinctions, including first prize at the 7th International Competition of Chamber Duets in
honour of L. Janaček (Brno). She was also the recipient of the L. Smith Duo Prize (London) – both of which were in a duet with
,
Ewa Mizerska, the first being the the Chopin Prize (London), and second prize in the E. Schumann Duo Prize competition for
Lieder (London).
In a duet with Ewa Mizerska, Glensk performed the Polish premiere of Krzysztof Meyer’s Opus 99 Sonata for Cello and Piano.
This piece was placed on the monographic album dedicated to the works of the Polish composer, released by the Toccata
Classics label in London. For the Year of Chopin, the pianist recorded a CD which featured selections of the revered compo-
ser’s oeuvre. The artist has worked with celebrated violinists such as Henryka Trzonek (Duo Kreisler) and Joanna Okoń, with
whom Glensk recorded in 2018 a CD featuring unknown compositions by Polish composers.
,11‚,
LANDOWSKA IN MEMORIAM
Władysław Kłosiewicz harpsichord
October 3, 2018 | 8 PM
Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall
JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH ( 1685-1750 )
PARTITA NO. 1 IN B FLAT MAJOR, BWV 825
PRAELUDIUM, ALLEMANDE, CORRENTE, SARABANDE, MENUET I, MENUET II, GIGUE
PARTITA NO. 2 IN C MINOR, BWV 826
SINFONIA, ALLEMANDE, COURANTE, SARABANDE, RONDEAUX, CAPRICCIO
PARTITA NO. 3 IN A MINOR, BWV 827
FANTASIA, ALLEMANDE, CORRENTE, SARABANDE, BURLESCA, SCHERZO, GIGUE
PARTITA NO. 4 IN D MAJOR, BWV 828
OUVERTÜRE, ALLEMANDE, COURANTE, ARIA, SARABANDE, MENUET, GIGUE
PARTITA NO. 5 IN G MAJOR, BWV 829
PRAEAMBULUM, ALLEMANDE, CORRENTE, SARABANDE, TEMPO DI MINUETTO, PASSEPIED, GIGUE
PARTITA NO. 6 IN E MINOR, BWV 830
TOCCATA, ALLEMANDE, CORRENTE, AIR, SARABANDE, TEMPO DI GAVOTTA, GIGUEWhen we think today about the renaissance of harpsichord music in the 20th century, the figure of Wanda Landowska immediately comes to the fore, so much so that it is only today that we fully appreciate her role and contribution. We can now retain a distance from the controversy surrounding Landowska’s harpsichord and its monumental sound; the idea that early music was supposedly less perfect than the music of later periods, and we can appreciate the imaginative strength of Landowska’s character. Born in Warsaw, in a Poland, which at that time was not present on any of the maps in the world, Landowska, from early childhood, displayed a unique and precocious musical talent. It is worth recalling the name of her outstanding teacher: Aleksander Michałowski, who was a celebrated performer of Chopin’s works. His impressive repertoire also included all the preludes and fugues from Bach’s Das Wohltemperierte Clavier, which he knew like no other. It is difficult to judge if Michałowski had an impact on the young pianist, but when Landowska at the age of 17 went on to study in Berlin, she dreamt not of the Romantic repertoire, but of the old music. This liking for the old music was all the more surprising as at the time such music was known but a few, and in a fragmentary fashion; indeed classical music was completely dominated by the great romantic repertoire, being symphonic, operatic and concerto. Few people felt the need to explore and make themselves familiar with the intentions included in the works of a composer who had lived centuries previously. Bach was certainly (since the discovery of Mendelssohn’s The Passion of Matthew) the best known of such composers, but it was possible to play the composer by way of Busoni’s rifacciamenti; or to add a piano accompaniment to the solo violin parts, which was intended to complement (!) the sound picture of the work as if it were an incomplete piece. At concerts, orchestras played symphonic reworkings of the Leipzig cantor, which included the Aria on the G string or the Toccata and the Fugue in D minor. The great neo-Romantic casts of the choir and orchestra performed Bach’s passions. No one was surprised by the dearth of instruments used by the composer in the orchestra (even the absence of the oboe da caccia, viola da gamba, lute and others), not to mention the quite different expression obtained by these monumental ensembles. Their volume and dynamics were associated with the music of Wagner or Mahler rather than with the polyphony of the composer of the mathematically precise Kunst der Fuge. Being in thrall to the artistic world of bygone eras, and searching for ways and means that would evoke the sound-world of centuries old – thus entailing the construction of instruments and a reflection of the performance practice and aesthetics of these works - all of this would lie in the future. It was not until the 1970s that a generation of musicians came to the fore, who were not prepared to accept the dishevelled, monumental, romantic visions of Baroque works. Instead, they looked to interpret this music in their own way and make it a part of their personal experience. They wanted to preserve its unique beauty, without abandoning their own interpretation. This was the „creed” of Wanda Landowska, who stated that every performer „adds their own style, combining intuition with knowledge so as to create musical ecstasy”.
Landowska, in her firm conviction that only the sound of old keyboard instruments could lead to a full appreciation of Bach’s works, was very much ahead of her time. It turned out, however, that in Western Europe no instrument proved capable of matching the artist’s conception. She searched the museums for a long time, studied manuscripts, and finally sought help from the Pleyel piano company. The first harpsichord did not win her over, only with time was it possible to combine the best features of historical instruments into one; and following this, a harpsichord was created with a deep, strong sound and an impressive low register, constituting a sound foundation. This opened up completely new interpretative possibilities for the artist. „Equipped with extraordinary intelligence, she managed to find a personal space for playing the harpsichord (...), and at the same time she did not forge the old anew, but looked to achieve their ideal perfection; this is her mystery and her artistry” (review after a concert performance on 15 March 1911 at the Cologne History of Music Museum). The artist finally found her place in Paris, where from the beginning of the twentieth century one could sense the ferment; the search for innovation, and a rejection of the aesthetics of Romanticism so foreign to French sensitivity. Genius painters and great poets, would listen to Debussy’s music (hailed as „Claude de France”) and feel the spirit of the era. Francis Poulenc wrote after meeting with Landowska (for which he composed his Concert champêtre): „Wanda is a phenomenal interpreter. The way she has restored to life and recreated the harpsichord is a miracle in itself.” Her sojourn in Paris Saint-Leu-la- Forêt with its beautiful gardens and concert hall has become a real centre of early music; a centre for the study and popularization of this art. Performing from May until October, conducting master classes, and hosting the meetings of musicologists from around the world. Leandowska already had in her possession two Playel harpsichords, spinets, clavichords, fortepianos, small organs from the 18th century, and many valuable manuscripts, all of which were kept in her home. She also had many students, who over time would excite a fascination for the harpsichord and the repertoire suitable for this instrument in many countries. From 1923, Lewandowska undertook a great tour of the United States, which during the Second World War would become her permanent home. These years are also the time of her Bach recordings, made in the studios of RCA Victor. Landowska’s interpretations won universal acclaim after a concert performance in New York (Town Hall, 1942), where she had played the Goldberg Variations. The well-known critic, Virgil Thomson, wrote: „From every perspective- historical knowledge, style, taste, understanding and spontaneous musicality – these interpretations of the harpsichord repertoire are definitive for our time.” Landowska looked to restore the music of Bach to its immanent sound image, with respect to its latent emotion versus knowledge and somewhat mathematical precision, as well as to its wonderful virtuosity and pure joy of playing versus metaphysical framework. At this time, Lewandowska was forging a solitary path, something which is worth remembering today when looking at the multitude of harpsichord classes in various countries, the number of competitions, the incredible wealth of old instruments or instruments modelled upon the original designs, and finally – the recordings of the harpsichord repertoire, perpetuated all over again, according to the informed knowledge, but also with an artistic interpretation.
Among the key works of Bach, the four volumes of the Clavier-Übung occupy pride of place, containing as they do works for harpsichords and organs (both small and large), and presenting various forms, styles and compositional techniques. The first part (published in 1731) presents the six Partite, which the composer described as „Preludes, Allemandes, Courants, Sarabands, Gigues, Minuets and other Gallantry”, with the last phrase referring to the remaining dancing as well as non- dancing pieces: characteristic miniatures, woven into the fixed pattern of a baroque suite. This cycle is the summation and crowning of the two previous sets of suites – the French and English, a kind of musical summa, illustrating all the possibilities that this capacious form brought. This was very much in line with the composer’s analytical mind; and in this regard Bach did not emphasize the didactic qualities of the cycle, but rather allowed the free manifestation of its artistic quality. „For music lovers, and the diversion of their minds,” he so wrote. 5/ This was the first printed collection in the extremely rich oeuvre of the 46-year-old composer, which may seem strange given his esteemed reputation. The Rector of the University of Leipzig, Johann Christoph Gottsched, put it best when he wrote: „in Saxony, the Bach kapellmeister towers over his contemporaries.” The series of the 6 Partite represents a review of the advanced means of the harpsichord technique, meaning the purely manual discoveries of the era, Bach will only multiply the difficult elements further in’s Goldberg Variations. By creating his original sound language, the composer draws freely from various sources: he uses elements of French and Italian style, concerto technique, lyrical cantabile and subtle ornaments, and even reminiscences of stylus fantasticus straight from Froberger’s suite. All this is immersed in a polyphonic tissue - once treated freely, and on other occasions taking the form of an intricate fugue (with the inversion of the topic or even two thematic thoughts). The core elements of the Partita are four basic (main) Baroque dances, in a suitably strongly stylized form: allemande, courante, sarabande and gigue. As a part of one dance, Bach applies in the next Partite - apart from similarities, the visible differences, making for an intriguing tonal experience for attentive listeners. The Praeludium opening the First Partita in B flat major (BWV 825) is the simplest among these introductory parts – conceived as it is out of one short motif, which resembles the preludes of Das Wohltemperierte Clavier. Further nexuses of the cycle consistently emphasize the rhythmic vibrancy, and homogeneous type of movement: the unique hexadecimal, triadic figurations in Allemande, and in Corrente – the triole, which is moving ever-forward. Giga has an original character, and is kept in an even rhythm and not in fugue, motori, or virtuoso. Only Saraband emerges from this domination of a homogeneous rhythm, and is French in type, being arabesque and ornate. The French style finds a congenial manifestation in the Sinfonia opening the Second Partita in C minor (BWV 826), where pathos and cothurnus achieve true and tragic greatness: heavy, massive arpeggiated chords, punctuated rhythms, expressive harmonic language, and then a somewhat austere fugue with neutral “key” theme from the emotional side. It is preceded by Andante, replete with the intimate lyricism of a subtle kind, a pensive ariosa in the style of a cantabile. The French esprit is also
linked to the two final parts (in the Second Partita, the gigue uniquely does not make an appearance) – instead the Rondeau is
full of lightness and grace, and with splendid complementary rhythms, and the Capriccio – a virtuoso piece with an impressive
finale, and which presents a new keyboard style.
The 3rd Partita in A minor (BWV 827) opens Fantazja, being in fact a two-part inventio, and does not present such expressive
features so as to influence the ambience of the entire piece. Further parts have individual, diverse dimensions (according to
the Baroque postulate of varietas): Allemande accords with the French taste in that it is decorative with a capricious melodic
line which is both subtle and delicate. In contrast, the Corrente is in the Italian style, wherein the two “Galanterie” are both
Burlesque and Scherzo, being as they are full of rhythmic energy, vigour, and grandeur. The Scherzo in particular introduces
decisive dynamic accents - broken chords in the left hand as a foundation for the „chase” of figurative runners in the right
hand. This leads to Gigue with its long theme, a three-part fugue maintained in a constant, uniform rhythmic pulse; with Bach
such a vision of the stylization of this dance is a common idea.
The 4th Partita in D major (BWV 828) transports us to the splendour of the French court, seen through the prism of Lully’s
triumphant apotheosis. This is the initial Overture, with its soaring markers and majestic puente rhythms. The wondrous first
part of the Partita finds its worthy fulfilment in the finale, with the elaborate Gigue with its long, figurative, and dazzling theme,
which progresses into a double fugue. The strict counterpoint is connected here - as often with Bach - with its dazzling piano-
key virtuosity. Another phenomenon is the Allemande, which is unique in terms of its lyricism, which takes us from court
splendour to deeply intimate moments. We find here one of those exceptional Bach melodies which so aroused the admiration
of his contemporaries. „His melodies were unique, (...) rich in ideas and not reminiscent of the melody of any other composer”
(we can so read in an obituary). The dancing elements are introduced by Aria - lively, syncopated, with a fondness using
rhythmic play between the parts of both hands.
The Praeambulum opening the 5th Partita in G major (BWV 829) – diverse and ever-changing - brings improvised figurations
and arpeggiated chords, intertwined with the fragments of a strict polyphonic structure, or with episodes laid out in a concerto
style. Subsequent dances do not differ from the patterns created by the composer in the partite: Allemande introduces a
touch of lyricism with its delicate figuration and rich ornamentation; Courante in its Italian style introduces a sense of renewal
(rejuvenation?), whereas the Sarabanda is delicate and intimate, filled as it is with French esprit. The light and charming
Minuet evokes the brisé style of French lutists, whereas Gigue - as always fugued, is based on a relatively concise theme, with
a distinctive rhythm and a three-note motif.
,,17The 6th Partita in E minor (BWV 830) opens with a brilliant and dramatic expression of Toccata, reminiscent of Froberger’s
songs maintained in a stylus fantasticus. These quasi-improvised opening and closing pieces introduce violent dramatic
narrative, both capricious and aphoristic, one in which a three-way fugued section is interwoven. Also the harmonic language
- especially the chromatic progressions and the rising culmination, evoke Froberger’s bold ideas. The rhapsodic Toccata style
is suggested by Sarabanda, with its powerful, rhetorical narrative. The Gigue closing the Partite, based on an exceptionally
original topic, developing over the course of several segments, with the surprising, repeated steps of a small seventh chord,
bring to mind Buxtehude’s strongly emotional, rhetorical ideas.
The 6 Partite crown the period of Bach’s work as based on the Baroque form of the suite, and clearly his analytical approach to
the possibilities hidden in a given material or structure was sated. The meticulous elaboration of ideas (elaboratio) goes hand
in hand with freedom of invention. When we add to this an impressive array of harpsichord techniques, we can understand the
sentiment of his contemporaries who wrote in an obituary: „He was the greatest harpsichordist and organist we’ve ever had.”
Władysław Kłosiewicz studied the harpsichord under Ruggero Gerlin, a student of Wanda Landowska. It is probably difficult
to discern in his mode of play direct references to the style of the great pioneer, but he has unquestionably looked to carry the
torch, so saying that the performer „adds his own style, combining intuition with knowledge”.
Playing Bach, Kłosiewicz is free from preconceived assumptions; and especially the Partite, with their wonderful synthesis of
styles and technical means, allow for such an interpretation. Indeed, in his interpretation, we can find a polyphonic, almost
mathematical accuracy, but also a lightness, amusement and dancing vigour: full of momentum, rhythmic energy, exquisite
accents and fragments - and beyond this- the purest lyricism with deeply intimate phrases, pensive; or the rendering of a climate
of idyllic happiness. What we are presented with is a lofty pathos and cothurnus, a dramatic gesture, and an exquisite, fragile
and sophisticated fabric of ornaments, or indeed a brilliant virtuosity inscribed in polyphonic exactness. This performance,
honouring as it does the great tradition of the harpsichord with its origins in the Baroque, has achieved a modern sensitivity.
Ewa ObniskaWładysław Kłosiewicz harpsichord
Władysław Kłosiewicz — harpsichordist and conductor. He studied at the Academy of Music in Warsaw and the Accademia
Musicale Chigiana in Siena. Kłosiewicz was the last student of Ruggero Gerlin (1899-1983), the assistant and closest
collaborator of Wanda Landowska. He was the winner of international harpsichord competitions in Paris (1981), Paris-Dijon
(1983), and Munich (1984). Since 1978, he has played with the Polish Chamber Orchestra and the Sinfonia Varsovia Orchestra;
he also co-founded the Concerto Avenna and has collaborated with many prominent soloists and conductors, including Fr.
Bruggen, R. Norrington, N. Harnoncourt, Ch. Hoghwood, R. Jacobs, W. Kuijken, Th. Hengelbrock, P. Muellejans, L. Duftschmidt,
J. West, Y. Menuhin, H. Szeryng. He has performed in Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Spain,
Holland, Lebanon, Luxemburg, Germany, Portugal, Russia, Switzerland, Ukraine, the USA, Hungary, Great Britain and Italy.
His solo phonographic work includes all the harpsichord works of: L. Couperin and J.Ph. Rameau; the Partitas, French suites
and Goldberg Variations by J.S. Bach (Fryderyk 2000 award), the works of J.J. Froberger, the sonatas of D. Scarlatti, and the
,,
entirety of F. Couperin’s oeuvre (13 CDs, which in 2014 garnered Fryderyk and Clef d’Or awards).
In the years 1993-2017 he was attached to the Warsaw Chamber Opera, during which time he was the conductor of the
Baroque Musicae Antiquae Colegium Varsoviense Early Music Orchestra. He compiled, edited and oversaw the first Polish
stage performances of Claudio Monteverdi’s „L’Orfeo”, „Il Ritorno d’Ulisse in Patria”, and „L’Incoronazione di Poppaea”, as
well as his vespers „Vespro della Beata Vergine”. He also directed G.F. Haendel’s operas „Imeneo”, „Rinaldo”, „Giulio Cesare”
and „Ariodante”, as well as many other Baroque operatic works (including the first opera, J. Perri’s „Euridice” dated to 1600),
as well as hundreds of oratoria, and symphonic and chamber concerts. In the years 1987 - 2004, he was Professor of the
Harpsichord and the Interpretation of Pre-Classical music at the Universitaet für Musik und darstellende Kunst in Graz, Austria.
He currently lectures at the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw.
,,19‚,,
LOVE WILL FOREGIVE YOU
ANYTHING
Kuba Stankiewicz American Trio
Kuba Stankiewicz piano
Dariusz „Oles” Oleszkiewicz bass
Tina Raymond drums
October 4, 2018 | 8 PM
Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall
HENRYK WARS NA PIERWSZY ZNAK | FIRST SIGN
VICTOR YOUNG ALONE AT LAST
HENRYK WARS MIŁOSC CI WSZYSTKO WYBACZY | LOVE WILL FORGIVE YOU ANYTHING
VICTOR YOUNG LOVE LETTERS
BRONISŁAW KAPER NINON
BRONISŁAW KAPER BLUE LOVEBIRD
HENRYK WARS OVER AND OVER AND OVER
VICTOR YOUNG JOHNNY GUITAR
HENRYK WARS NIC O TOBIE NIE WIEM | KNOWING NOTHING ABOUT YOU
VICTOR YOUNG BEAUTIFUL LOVELooking to the Future – Jazz Straight from Poland
Young, Kaper and Vars: being given the jazz treatment.
You think you’ve heard all this before?
Nothing could be farther from the truth!
The film-jazz trilogy of Kuba Stankiewicz, whose concert „summation” will headline the program this evening, is an unprece-
dented exploration of the shared histories of Polish and American phonography.
,,,
A few years ago, in an interview which took place as part of the launch of the 3-CD album compilation „The Music of Victor
Young”, Kuba Stankiewicz recalled an anecdote featuring the celebrated master of Polish jazz saxophonist Janusz Muniak: (...)
He told me - Stankiewicz recalled - that his favorite tune was „Beautiful Love”. He joked: „Old friend, it sounds like a Russian
folk melody; how could they write something like that in America?” When I first began listening to Young’s music, I looked to
follow his path and in so doing I discovered the fascinating story of his life; so these Muniak jokes began to take on a deeper
meaning. Young was from here - that’s why you can hear his Russian, Polish, Slavic melodies.
There is no doubt that the celebrated Hollywood composer, Victor Young, was an American by birth (Chicago born), choice
and conviction. He chose to never speak about his Polish roots. He was born probably in 1899 (various sources give different
dates) as Abe Jabłoń to a family of Polish Jews who had hailed from Mława. After the untimely death of his mother, his father, a
traveling musician in an operatic orchestra, sent him to his grandparents in Warsaw, where he began studying at the Warsaw
Conservatory (violin and composition), and later: going by the name of Wiktor Jung, he made his debut at the Warsaw Philhar-
monic. Soon after, he was giving concerts in St. Petersburg for Tsar Nicholas II. When the Bolshevik Revolution broke out, he
returned to Warsaw, where he completed his studies, and also witnessed Poland’s regaining of independence. In 1920, he left
for Paris, and from there he traveled to the United States, where he would remain for the rest of his life.
He had a strong work ethic, and would end up writing scores for over 300 films. He was nominated for an Oscar 22 times
(though he won only once, and posthumously - for best original score for the „Around the World in 80 Days” (1956). A few of
his melodies became chart hits and it was jazz artists who imbued these songs with the glitz of immortality. The most notable
example was the song „Stella by Starlight” from the movie „The Uninvited” (1944), about which Kuba Stankiewicz has this to
say: the [movie] was shot exactly at the same time when the Warsaw Uprising was in its throes. Who would have been thinkingabout such matters then? Miles Davis was 18 years’ old at the time. Probably one day he went to the cinema, saw the movie,
liked the song and thought: „Nice tune, maybe I should learn to play it?”. And so he did, and „Stella by Starlight” would be-
come his trademark tune.
Jazz artists playing cinematic and musical melodies has been a frequent and fruitful practice, and has contributed to the as-
sembly of the Great American Songbook. That said, Kuba Stankiewicz, a contemporary artist with his own take on tradition, has
striven to achieve something more. To this end, he has looked the music of Polish emigres in America so as to remind people
just how complex and fascinating the history of Polish emigration in the 20th century was.
,,,
For most of Young’s adult life, Poland was a closed chapter. He did not visit Poland after World War II, and did not cultivate
relationships with other Polish immigrants. Family members mentioned that one of the few people with whom he spoke Polish
was the dazzling Bronisław Kaper, who was a few years his junior. But from his friendship with Kaper, we can imagine that he
must have yearned for his homeland, especially when we see that Kaper was a staunch Polish patriot and a lover of Polish
culture.
Bronisław Kaper was born in 1902 to a well-established Warsaw-Jewish family. He studied law at Warsaw University (which he
completed at his parents’ insistence, yet never practiced), and composition and piano at Warsaw Conservatory. He commit-
ted his life to music around the time of his graduation, focusing in particular on cabaret songs. He left for Berlin to pursue an
apprenticeship as a cabaret performer; as Berlin was where the cabaret scene was most vibrant (this performative art would
not become popular across Europe until the 1930s). However, he was forced to flee Germany when Hitler came to power, the
next destination being Paris. There he met the legendary film producer, Louis B. Mayer, who liked the radio-song „Ninon”,
performed by Jan Kiepura - a hit that Kaper had written together with Walter Jurmann for the famous tenor. Mayer - at that time
the undisputed King of the Dream Factory - took both young men with him to America.
Kaper spent the best part of 50 years in Hollywood, and wrote music for 150 films: in 1954 he won an Oscar for „Lili” in the
category Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture. He also became a one-man institution as an informal ambassa-
dor of Polish culture. His house was an open salon for Polish artists looking for support in their careers, and he spent a fortune
on long-distance telephone calls to friends left behind the Iron Curtain. Kaper would only visit Poland in the 1960s. He died
in 1983.
Kaper’s most famous melodies - „On Green Dolphin Street”, „Invitation” or the already mentioned „Ninon” - are considered as
standards today. No day passes where somewhere in the world, in a concert hall or small club, jazz artists do not fail to include
these pieces in their repertoire. Hardly anyone knows - also in Poland! - that these compositions have something in common
with Poland, but... is it not true that the best music knows no borders?,,,
The life story of Henryk Warszawski (born 1902) – in Poland better known as Henryk Wars, and in the USA as Henry Vars – is
a story replete with Hollywood glamour. He remains Warsaw’s most famous composer, who enjoyed a stellar reputation even
before the outbreak of World War II. His songs are the songbook of his homeland, and have become a part of popular culture.
Vars was one of the first leaders of a jazz band in Warsaw; he was the composer of musical hits, and was a well-known compos-
er of film scores. He was also a soldier who fought gallantly against the Germans in the defence of Poland in September 1939,
being subsequently captured and taken prisoner. He soon escaped from captivity and managed to get as far as Lviv in today’s
Ukraine, where he founded the Big Band. He joined the Polish Army of Gen. Anders, with whom, as the head of the orchestra,
Vars travelled half of the world; and in 1946 he settled in the USA.
Thanks to the reputation which Bronisław Kaper enjoyed in Hollywood, Vars, as a Polish composer and yet another Jewish
exile, could count on an easy entry into show business; but this was a new beginning for a man who was well into his 40s. Wars
arranged and composed film and TV music, and he also wrote songs for popular singers. He died in Los Angeles in 1977, not
having gained wide-spread fame or amassed a fortune, but having achieved a modest prosperity and respect amongst artistic
circles in the City of Angels. From our Polish perspective, it was his work that has survived best the passage of time. I think
everyone in Warsaw knows the melodies of Wars: „Love Forgives Everything”, „Ah, How Nice”, „At the First Sign” ... These ev-
ergreens, often played and sung on radio and television, and also in theaters and cabarets, have captured and enhanced the
image of a pre-war idyll. Such is the power of music, to help picture a world that may have only ever existed in the imagination.
,,,
The idea of Kuba Stankiewicz showcasing the music of Young, Kaper and Vars is wonderful in its simplicity and - being in op-
position to current trends in popular music and jazz - remains avant-garde on its own terms. Interpretations by the pianist are
based on the beauty of the original melodies, and on the subtle sound and balanced expression of jazzy swing. If you looking
for elements which distinguish Stankiewicz’s piano craftsmanship, they are undoubtedly the heavenly, lyrical introductions to
ballads. No one can play jazz on the piano quite so tenderly. From the large group of outstanding Polish jazz pianists playing
today, only Stankiewicz approaches each sound and note with such meticulousness, thoughtfulness and sensitivity.
Welcome to what will be an unforgettable evening, featuring unique interpretations of the music of Young, Kaper and Vars!
Adam DomagałaKuba Stankiewicz piano
Kuba Stankiewicz has been one of Poland’s leading jazz pianists for many years. In the second half of the 1980s he played
with the Jan Ptaszyn Wróblewski band, and then with the Zbigniew Namysłowski quintet and a quartet, which resulted in the
albums Open and Song of Innocence). In the years 1987-1990 he studied pianoforte at the Berklee College of Music in Boston,
where he was awarded the Oscar Peterson Prize. He was also the semi-finalist of the prestigious Thelonious Monk Institute Of
Jazz International Piano Competition in Washington. From his time in America, it is also worth recalling Stankiewicz’s work with
the orchestra of the legendary clarinettist and bandleader, Arti Shaw.
After returning to Poland, Stankiewicz established a quartet with Henryk Miśkiewicz, Adam Cegielski and Cezary Konrad, and
in 1993 he recorded the Northern Song album (chosen as album of the year by the readers of Jazz Forum). Following this, he
co-established the Traveling Birds formation with Darek Oleszkiewicz, Piotr Wojtasik, Piotr Baron, Cezary Konrad, which led to
the recording of the almbums Traveling Birds Quintet in 1994 and Return To The Nest in 1995), albums which consolidated
his strong position on the Polish music scene. Among other musicians with whom he has played, noteworthy of mention are:
Scott Hamilton, Art Farmer (with whom Stankiwiecz collaborated on the album Art In Wroclaw), Sheila Jordan, Janusz Muniak,
Tomasz Szukalski and Anna Maria Jopek.
At the end of the nineties, Kuba Stankiewicz composed the nostalgic album entitled Ulice wielkich miast [Streets of Great Cities]
based on the lyrics of Agnieszka Osiecka, who had passed away in 1997. This was followed up a few years later by the unpre-
cedented The Chopin Songbook (with jazz interpretations of the great composer’s songs in both Polish and English editions),
which was performed at the Jazz Jamboree festival in 2003, and again in a series of performances in 2010 as part of the Chopin
Year (including the Chopin and his Europe festival in Warsaw). In 2012, Kuba Stankiewicz recorded the original Spaces album,
which was nominated in 2013 for the Wrocław Music Award, and a FRYDERYK award Album of the Year in the Jazz Music cate-
gory; and in the same year he released a solo album with his own interpretations of the film scores of Wojciech Kilar.
In 2014, in a Los Angeles studio, together with Peter Erskine and Darek Oleszkiewicz, Stankiewicz recorded the musical pieces
of Victor Young, and the album was subsequently released by Warner Classics. In 2015, Stankiweicz performed series of con-
certs promoting the album across the USA.
Although the piano style of Kuba Stanskiewicz is based on classical American models, it often opts for the Romantic lyric over
dynamic extremes. It remains grounded however in pure jazz, embedded in convincing timing, and one that is open to partners.
In recent years, Stankiewicz has been increasingly involved in pedagogical activities (in 2009 he defended his doctorate at the
Academy of Music in Wrocław, and in January 2016 he received a postdoctoral degree in the field of Musical Arts and Instru-
,,,25
mental Studies). He is also a highly respected creator of music computer programs.Darek „Oles” Oleszkiewicz bass Darek „Oles” Oleszkiewicz was born on February 20, 1963 in Wroclaw, Poland. At the age of five Darek began his music education at the State Music School in Wroclaw. Piano was his first in-strument, but later he played guitar, electric bass and finally at eighteen years old, he switched to acoustic bass. While in his teens he played with amateur groups, evolving in popular music styles from rock, blues, jazz-rock to straight ahead jazz. In the early 1980’s, Darek participated in various jazz festivals and national competitions for young musicians. In 1983, he was the most awarded musician at the Jazz Juniors in Cracow, winning the first individual prize, first prize for jazz composition and a second prize in jazz combo category. Later that year Darek was invited by Jan Ptaszyn Wroblewski, a jazz legend in Poland, to join saxophonist’s quartet on tour. In the following five years Darek Oleszkiewicz was working steadily with some of the best jazz bands in the country such as: Zbigniew Namyslowski Quartet, Tomasz Szukalski Quartet, Henryk Majewski Quintet, Wojciech Karolak Trio and Andrzej Jagodzinski Trio and Jan Ptaszyn Wroblewski Quartet. With those groups he recorded for Polish Jazz, Polskie Nagrania, East Wind and also for the radio and television in Poland and abroad. Darek was touring extensively in Poland, France, Germany, Czech Republic, Cuba, Mexico and performed at major festivals, concerts and jazz club venues. In 1988, Darek arrived in Los Angeles with a simple plan in mind: to broaden his musical horizon. One year later he received a full scholarship from California Institute Of The Arts and began studies with the legendary bassist Charlie Haden. After graduation in 1992, he accepted a teaching position at the Institute, where he has been conduc-ting jazz ensembles and teaching bass ever since. Since 2010 Darek has been a jazz faculty member at the University Of Southern California. Aside from his teaching duties, Darek has been very active as a performer and became one of the most sought after bass players on the West Coast. „Oles” (his American nick-name) had the opportunity to perform and record with the greatest masters in jazz. A partial list of his collaborations include: Brad Mehldau, Billy Higgins, Pat Metheny, Joe Lovano, Eddie Henderson, Charles Lloyd, John Abercrombie, Bennie Maupin, Lee Konitz, Peter Erskine, Alan Pasqua, Bennie Wallace, Victor Lewis, Harvey Mason, Dave Grusin, Art Farmer, Horace Silver, Alice Coltrane, Ravi Coltrane, James Newton, Geri Allen, Brian Blade, Arthur Blythe, Lew Tabackin, Steve Kuhn, Gary Smulyan, Ronnie Cuber, Billy Hart, Kevin Hays, Munyungo Jackon, Steve Hass, Toshiko Akiyoshi, Marian McPartland, Janis Siegel, Bob Brookmeyer, Curtis Fuller, Roy McCurdy, Tom Harrell, Larry Goldings, Bill Stewart, Chris Potter, Kei Akagi, Billy Childs, Bob Sheppard, Joe LaBarbera, Bill Cunliffe, Patrice Rushen, Bennie Golson, Piotr Baron, Teri Lynn Carrington, Buddy De Franco, Terry Gibbs, Anthony Wilson Nonet, Los Angeles Jazz Quartet, Carla Bley and Liberation Music Orchestra.
You can also read
