Szymanowski's interest in Polish folk music was sparked in 1920 when Dr. Adolf Chybiński introduced him to Góral ('highlander') music from the Tatra mountains.
Composer Biography
Szymanowski composed his music at the piano throughout his life and even relied on playing the piano for income during a difficult period in 1932-35.
Composition History
Szymanowski's final stylistic phase, beginning in 1920, involved an engagement with Polish nationalism, which is reflected in the works on this album, including the Twenty Mazurkas, Op 50.
Compositional Technique
Szymanowski used the Op 50 Mazurkas as an experimental template to explore his 'lechitic' keyboard style, fusing highland music features with his mature idiom.
Composer Biography
Karol Szymanowski, the composer, began piano lessons at age seven, first with his father and then with his uncle, Gustav Neuhaus, whose son later taught Sviatoslav Richter, Emil Gilels, and Radu Lupu.
Composer Biography
Szymanowski died at the age of 54 on March 28, 1937, a victim of chronic tuberculosis, leaving the further development of his unique musical language as an unanswered question of 20th-century music.
Composer Biography
Szymanowski's early piano works, including his Nine Preludes, Op 1, attracted the support of Artur Rubinstein, an important early champion.
