 |
Polish-Jewish musician Ignacy Friedman (1882-1948) is today best remembered as one of the greatest pianists of the Golden Age, in particular, for his performances of the works of Frédéric Chopin and as a prominent musical personality whose character infused everything he played. Born in Podgórze, the son of a theatre orchestra musician, he grew up being familiar with the styles of Polish-, Jewish- and Austrian music. Friedman left Kraków in 1900 to study composition at the Leipzig Conservatory with Hugo Riemann, then moving to Vienna for piano studies with Theodor Leschetizky. His Vienna debut in November 1904,in which he played three piano concertos, was the launching of a forty-year international touring- and recording career, during which he collaborated with such artists as Bronisław Huberman, Emanuel Feuermann, Erica Morini, Mischa Elman, Leopold Auer, Antal Dorati, Ossip Gabrilowitsch, Willem Mengelberg, Arthur Nikisch and Eugène Ysaÿe. Till 1914, Friedman lived in Berlin; during World War I he lived in Copenhagen, after which he resided in Italy. In 1938, with the imminence of World War II, Friedman tried to secure a teaching position in America, but with no success. However, in 1940, due to cancellations of other artists, he landed a concert tour of Australia, where he then remained, furthering his performing-, teaching-, recording- and broadcasting career. His health began to fail in 1943 and he died in Sydney five years later.
In addition to editing the complete
works of Chopin and a number of major works of Liszt, Beethoven, Mendelssohn
and Schumann, Friedman produced several transcriptions of various works.
However, he also composed many short works, as well as a piano quintet and
three string quartets. It is known that he occasionally included a composition
of his own in concert performances. "Ignacy Friedman Complete
Songs", recorded in 2021 for the (Polish) Acte
Préalable label, is the first disc to appear of the composer's songs for
solo voice and piano. With the exception of three songs in German, set to
lyrics of Otto Julius Bierbaum, Friedman chose texts of prominent Polish
writers - Adam Mickiewicz, Maria Konopnicka and Adam Asnyk - being highly
motivated to set poetry of members of the Young Poland movement - Kazimierz
Przerwa-Tetmajer, Lucjan Rydel and Tadeusz Miciński. Included in the liner notes are English translations of all the texts. Performing the 37 songs are two Polish-born artists - bass-baritone
Szymon Choynacki and pianist Jakub Tchorzewski - and Turkish soprano Şen Acar. In her liner notes, Dr. hab. Jolanta
Guzy-Pasiak notes that there is "reason to believe that, at the beginning
of the 20th century, these songs enjoyed a degree of popularity"… and that
"they were published by major publishers…" However, since Friedman's death
in 1948, the songs were no longer performed in his homeland, as the Communist
authorities had made it their business to obscure works of composers living
outside of Poland. Only with the fall of the Iron Curtain have works of such
composers resumed their place as an intrinsic part of
Polish musical repertoire.
Ignacy Friedman's
songs constitute a rich collection of Lieder, their subjects ranging from love,
(some sensuous in description, others naive and pastoral, several telling of
unrequited- or one-sided love), all cushioned in rich, imaginative nature
descriptions. Many songs speak of loneliness and death and there is a smattering of
more folk-like songs, bucolic and humorous in nature. The items included in each
opus do not necessarily bear musical or textual connection, the words of each
often taken from writings of different poets. Romantic in style and colour,
largely tonal, their musical style influenced by that of the great Lied
composers, Friedman's settings flow wonderfully, his sophisticated use of
harmony adding vividness and meaning to the songs' superb melodiousness, as he
intertwines and dovetails vocal lines and piano accompaniment with subtlety,
invention and interest. Friedman's lush and inspiring writing for piano
reflects back to his own greatness as a pianist. For those performing this
repertoire, his formidable piano writing will be as alluring and engaging to
the singer and audience as it will to the pianist. With each finely-chiselled
song, the listener is transported into a mood, into an evocative scene, to the
inner workings of the poet's mind via the composer's musical- and emotional
language. Running through very many of the songs, there is a gnawing sense of
dejection and melancholy, elements often present in Polish artistic expression.
In addition to their commitment of
finding the scores to the songs, Szymon Choynacki, Jakub Tchorzewski and Şen Acar have recorded these gems with profound
inquiry as to the content of each, with attention to colour, detail and masterful
shaping, in music-making of sensitivity, emotional involvement and close
teamwork, introducing today's listener to this significant body of songs, works
belonging to the rich heritage of Polish music. In Dr. Guzy-Pasiak's
words: "Not every forgotten composer is so lucky to have his music
rediscovered after a long time by outstanding performers."
 |
| Ignacy Friedman (Courtesy festiwal.nifc.pl) |
No comments:
Post a Comment