Works by two of Poland's finest composers are on the programme at London's Wigmore Hall
As part of the Monday Platform series at the prestigious Wigmore Hall, the British ensemble Idomeneo String Quartet, together with pianist Clare Hammond, will perform works by Haydn, Prokofiev and Shostakovich, as well as Karol Szymanowski and Andrzej Panufnik.
The Idomeneo String Quartet is based at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. As part of the series of concerts in the PLG New Year Series 2011, the ensemble has already earned a great deal of success and renown, as indeed has Clare Hammond.
Karol Szymanowski (1882-1937) is regarded as one of the finest composers that Poland has produced. He spent his childhood in Tymoshovka, in the Ukraine. He first began learning the piano with his father, before commencing studies at Gustav Neuhaus' music school in Elisavetgrad (modern-day Kirovohrad). From 1901-05 he studied harmony with Marek Zawirski and counterpoint and composition with Zygmunt Noskowski in Warsaw. During this time and met Paweł Kochański, Artur Rubinstein, Grzegorz Fitelberg, Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz and Stefan Żeromski. In 1905, together with Fitelberg, Ludomir Różycki and Apolinary Szeluto, he helped to found the Young Poland in Music Society, which served to promote the music of contemporary Polish composers. He travelled widely: throughout Europe and as far as the United States. In 1919 he settled in Warsaw, and from the 22 July, 1927 to the 31 August, 1929 he was rector at the Warsaw Conservatory. From 1930-35 he lived permanently in Zakopane, at Villa Atma. He died in a sanatorium in Lugano in 1937.
Sir Andrzej Panufnik (1914-91) was one of Poland's finest émigré composers and conductors. From 1932-36 he studied theory of music and composition (earning a diploma with honours) with Kazimierz Sikorski at the Warsaw Conservatory. He also completed composition studies in Paris and Vienna. He spent the war and occupation in Warsaw, where he took part in legal and illegal concerts as a pianist (and occasionally as a duettist with Witold Lutosławski). Not able to cope with the strict limitations placed on composers by the Communist government, Panufnik left Poland in 1954. As a result, the PRL placed a ban on the performance and distribution of Panufnik's music, as well as banning the mentioning of the composer's surname in publications and radio and television broadcasts. Panufnik settled in England, where he continued his conducting career (among other posts, he occupied the position of musical director and conductor of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra from 1957-59), in order to be able to concentrate later entirely on composition. In 1977, the Polish Composers' Union was able to lift the ban on Panufnik's music in his homeland. That same year witnessed performances of his works for the very first time as part of the Warszawska Jesień (Warsaw Autumn) International Festival of Contemporary Music,. Despite this success, Panufnik remained in England (for a total of 37 years) until his death, although most of his music does confess to Polish influences.
The concert at the Wigmore Hall in London, featuring the Idomeneo String Quartet and Clare Hammond, takes place at 19:30 on May 9, 2011.
Concert programme:
- Haydn, String Quartet in C, Op.50, No.2
- Prokofiev, Piano Sonata in A, Op.82, No.6
- Szymanowski, 12 Etudes, Nos.1-8
- Panufnik, 12 Miniature Studies, Nos.7-12
- Shostakovich, String Quartet in F, Op.73, No.3
For more information, see: www.wigmore-hall.org.uk
Source: press release, Polish Cultural Institute in London