Szymanowski was an exact contemporary of Igor Stravinsky and Zoltán Kodály, and one year younger than Béla Bartók.
Compositional Technique
Like Debussy, Ravel, and Stravinsky, Szymanowski composed at the piano, using the instrument to experiment with new sounds and sonorities, especially in his middle-period works.
Composer Biography
Karol Szymanowski, a Polish composer, was born on his family's Ukrainian estate, Tymoszówka, which was formerly part of the Kingdom of Poland but then within the Russian empire.
Recording & Production
This album was recorded by Nimbus Records at the Concert Hall of the Nimbus Foundation, Wyastone Leys, Monmouth, UK, with tracks 1-10 recorded in June and July 1992, and tracks 11-27 in June and August 1993.
Composer Biography
Despite being honored with a doctorate from the University of Cracow and the Polish State Prize for music in 1930, Szymanowski often felt like "a prophet without honour in his native land."
Composer's Artistic Vision
Szymanowski believed that any Polish national artistic creativity would be influenced by Chopin, whom he considered "the most profoundly philosophic and yet most artistic embodiment of what might be called, 'the spirit of Poland'."
Composer's Artistic Vision
Szymanowski's creative output is divided into three phases, with the final phase (1920-1933) showing him rediscovering his Polish folk roots, paralleling Béla Bartók's approach.
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