Piano Recital: Michał Szymanowski

Featuring

Michał Karol Szymanowski
Ignacy Jan Paderewski
Frédéric Chopin
Karol Szymanowski

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Composer's Artistic Vision

Paderewski himself thought little of his popular Minuet in G major, including it in a suite to 'calm his artistic conscience' about dedicating time to such 'trifles'.

Compositional Technique

Chopin's Mazurka in C major from Op. 6 includes the performance note 'senza fine' (without end), referencing the folk practice of playing a single melody 'over and over again' at village dances.

Compositional Technique

Karol Szymanowski's Variations in B flat minor Op. 3, dedicated to Artur Rubinstein, played an important role in shaping Szymanowski's compositional technique, with variations becoming one of his favorite methods.

Performer Biography

Michał Szymanowski is considered one of the best and most original young Polish pianists, as evidenced by his performance at the 16th International Chopin Competition in Warsaw.

Composition History

Ignacy Jan Paderewski, a composer featured on this album, wrote his Minuet in G major Op. 14 as a joke to deceive two Mozart enthusiasts, Adolf Chałubiński and Aleksander Świętochowski.

Performer Biography

Michał Szymanowski, the pianist on this album, won third prize at the International I. J. Paderewski Piano Competition in Bydgoszcz.

Critical Reception

Karol Szymanowski's Study in B flat minor Op. 4 No. 3, featured on this album, was so well-received at its 1906 premiere that a critic suggested 'Chopin himself could well sign' it.