Narodowa Orkiestra Symfoniczna Polskiego Radia NOSPR
Karol Szymanowski
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Recording & Production
The Symphony No.4 on this album was recorded at NOSPR Concert Hall, Katowice in March 2025, while the Mazurkas were recorded at Warsaw Philharmonic Hall in May 2022.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Karol Szymanowski's music balances Apollonian grace and Dionysian fervor, and this interplay shapes his entire body of work, transcending conventional stylistic periods.
Composer Biography
Szymanowski found inspiration in 'exoticism' and traveled through Italy to North Africa in the 1910s, which marked a period of erotic awakening for him.
Composition History
The Symphony No.4 (Symphonie concertante), Op.60, a virtuoso piano concerto, is dedicated to Artur Rubinstein, a friend and ardent supporter of Szymanowski.
Compositional Technique
The second movement of the Symphony No.4 features a piano solo marked 'Improvisando' in the extreme upper register, evoking the sound of a Persian santur, a struck-string table zither.
Compositional Technique
The third movement of Szymanowski's Symphony No.4 contains 'almost orgiastic passages' and features the oberek, one of Poland's fastest dances, with an agitated and anxious character.
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