Composers from Poland

Poland sits at a crossroads of classical music, adopting the traditions of instrumental virtuosity emphasized in neighboring Russia but maintaining artistic ties with Western Europe. In the post-WWII era Poland even fostered avant-garde composers.

The name Frédéric Chopin is synonymous with Polish music although the pianist-composer moved to Paris at age twenty-one in 1831 and remained there the rest of his short life. He borrowed Polish dance genres for his highly sophisticated works and even set Polish poems as songs. One of several transcribed for piano alone by Franz Liszt is The Maiden’s Wish, played by Inna Faliks.

Not all Chopin’s music was nationalistic. His four scherzi are more serious in tone than the name (which translates to “jokes”) implies. The Scherzo, Op.39 even contains much chorale-style music. It’s played by Seoeun Lee. Moreover the notion of a ballade without words seems to have originated with Chopin. His four such works for piano seem to tell stories though none have been conclusively ascribed to them. The Ballade, Op.47 is played by Michelle Cann.

Martin Sędek is an active choral conductor and composer whose piece on a WWI text won a competition by the Tucson ensemble True Concord. They sing The Hosts with cello accompaniment.

Among the piano heirs to Chopin are Moritz Moszkowski and Josef Hofmann who both composed salon music making great demands on the performer. One example from each is played by brothers Oleksandr and Roman Fediurko, like Seoeun Lee from earlier recognized in international piano competitions held at ASU.

Grażyna Bacewicz is the most recognized female composer from Poland. She did much to promote the nation as a center of contemporary music in the mid-twentieth century. Her own work changed markedly over the decades and her sixth string quartet from 1960 has twelve-tone passages (an exemplar of academic modernism at the time) within a traditional four-movement structure. The Borromeo Quartet plays this piece that greatly challenged its composer.