Szymanowski's early music was influenced by Chopin, Scriabin, Wagner, and Reger, but he later sought to break free from polyphonic complexity into a more idiosyncratic musical language.
Composer Biography
Karol Szymanowski, the composer, was born into a privileged artistic family on an estate in Tymoszówka, Ukraine, which was then part of the Russian Empire.
Composer Biography
The 1917 Revolution swept away the Szymanowski family's estate, leading to a transitional period where Karol traveled widely and gained a reputation in France.
Composer's Artistic Vision
After 1913, Szymanowski's interest in Germanic musical tradition evaporated, and he drew inspiration from Persian Sufi sources and Nietzsche's 'The Birth of Tragedy'.
Compositional Technique
A recurrent feature in Szymanowski's music is the disjunction between harmonic density and a luminous weightlessness of actual texture, which requires a performer with meticulous polyphonic instincts.
Composer Biography
Szymanowski's family had an illustrious Polish pedigree and a fervent patriotism that remained with him despite his later nomadic life.
Composer Biography
Szymanowski's later years were marked by advancing sickness, isolation, and disillusionment, partly due to the strain of his administrative roles at the Warsaw Conservatory and State Academy of Music.
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Williams: Piano Music, Vol. 2
WILLIAMS: Piano Music, Vol. 2
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Szymanowski: Piano Music
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