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22 March 2010

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Karol Szymanowski, "Nine Preludes for piano Op. 1"
languages: Polish  / English 
 

Szymanowski's earliest known compositions, "Preludes Op. 1" are his own selection of nine of his first piano miniatures. Selected for publication purposes in 1900, the preludes mostly date from 1899-1900, although two, numbered 7 and 8, may well have been written as early as in 1896. However, it was not until 1905 that the publishing house of the Young Polish Composers (Spółka Nakładowa Młodych Kompozytorów Polskich) published the collection. It should be noted that one of the opus 1 preludes received a mention at the Konstanty Lubomirski Competition in Warsaw in 1903.

"The Preludes" are clearly evocative of Fryderyk Chopin's music in the way the form and piano texture are approached. With eight preludes composed in the minor key, lyricism is the dominant mood, yet one can also discern Szymanowski's interest in the contemporary trends in music, especially as exemplified by Alexander Skryabin (the characteristic turns of harmony).

"Preludes Op. 1" have always been popular with pianists, and were included in the repertoires of such virtuosi as Artur Rubinstein and Felicja Blumental. They have also been transcribed to other instruments, and these transcriptions are as well known as the original piano works. One such transcription of "Prelude No. 1", was made for violin or cello and piano by Grażyna Bacewicz in 1948. She performed it to acclaim with her brother Kiejstut Bacewicz, and their interpretation was released on an LP by the label Polskie Nagrania - Muza 1597 in 1950. The first two "Preludes" had been earlier transcribed for string quartet by Stanisław Mikuszewski for the ceremony of consecrating Szymanowski's sarcophagus in Cracow's Na Skałce church in 1938.

Author: Anna Iwanicka-Nijakowska, September 2007.

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