Kurpiński, Dobrzyński & Moniuszko: Orchestral Works

Featuring

Jarosław Thiel
Wrocław Baroque Orchestra
Karol Kurpiński
Ignacy Feliks Dobrzynski
Stanisław Moniuszko

Did you know?

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Notable Performances

Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy conducted Dobrzyński's Symphony No. 2 in Leipzig's Gewandhaus after its Viennese premiere, and Dobrzyński himself later conducted it there during a concert tour.

Composition History

The survival of Karol Kurpiński's Elegy is thanks to Mieczysław Krzyński, a conductor and composer who copied several of Kurpiński's scores from Warsaw before World War II.

Historical Context

The composers on this album lived and worked in a country that officially did not exist, dependent on censors, and struggled to raise the level of local cultural life.

Interpretation

The performers chose to record Moniuszko's The Fairy Tale using historical instruments and a score cleared of later additions by conductor Witold Rowicki, which had altered the original musical text.

Composition History

Ignacy Feliks Dobrzyński's Symphony No. 2 is possibly the first European symphony entirely based on national motifs, and it received the second-highest score in a Viennese composition contest.

Historical Context

A significant part of the composers' musical output was destroyed or fragmented due to historical turmoil, including World War II.

Recording & Production

This album features the world premiere recording of Karol Kurpiński's Elegy in C minor and the first recording on period instruments of Ignacy Feliks Dobrzyński's Symphony No. 2 and Stanisław Moniuszko's The Fairy Tale.