# Great Polish Composers



## flamencosketches (Jan 4, 2019)

I am on a mission to discover the music of the great Polish composers. Of those that I've heard, the ones that I would say are truly great include:

Fryderyk Chopin
Karol Szymanowski
Witold Lutosławski
Krzsysztof Penderecki
Henryk Górecki

I see it as a fluid tradition, certainly one can trace the influence from one to the next. 

Who else am I missing?


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## norman bates (Aug 18, 2010)

Panufnik is the first I can think of


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## Jacck (Dec 24, 2017)

Grażyna Bacewicz !
Zbigniew Preisner


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

Seconding Panufnik and Bacewicz, and throwing in Tadeusz Baird.


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

Of the romantic composers: Stanisław Moniuszko, Henryk Wieniawski, Zygmunt Noskowski. Also deserving mention: Moritz Moszkowski,Ignacy Jan Paderewski.

But really one of the very best: Mieczysław Karłowicz, who died far too young (try his violin concerto!).


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## flamencosketches (Jan 4, 2019)

Awesome, I’ll definitely check out Karłowicz, Panufnik, and Bacewicz.


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## mbhaub (Dec 2, 2016)

Art Rock said:


> But really one of the very best: Mieczysław Karłowicz, who died far too young (try his violin concerto!).


Amen to that! That concerto is terrific and would be a wonderful addition to the repertoire, if only violinists would take it up. A couple have, but not enough.


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## Fabulin (Jun 10, 2019)




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## Orfeo (Nov 14, 2013)

Let's not forget Mieczysław Weinberg.


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

Orfeo said:


> Let's not forget Mieczysław Weinberg.


Good point - I'm always seeing his as a Soviet composer, but he was born in Warsaw.


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## joen_cph (Jan 17, 2010)

Romantics: Zarebski (piano quintet etc), Rozycki (orchestral music);
Later: Szymanski (contemporary, such as Partita for Harpsichord & Orchestra, Etudes for Piano, etc); 

lesser known 20th century: Tadeusz Baird, Wlodzimierz Kotonski, Michal Spisak (neo-classicism), Kazimierz Serocki (~Lutoslawski), Krysztof Meyer (often rather conservative), Zygmunt Krause (ditto), etc.


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## Becca (Feb 5, 2015)

Polish according to the borders from what period? There is quite a bit that was but isn't and parts that weren't but are.


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## DaveM (Jun 29, 2015)

Fabulin said:


>


And it has a wonderful Adagio:


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## CnC Bartok (Jun 5, 2017)

Art Rock said:


> Seconding Panufnik and Bacewicz, and throwing in Tadeusz Baird.


Thirding Panifnik and Bacewicz. I love the former's symphonies, and his Sinfonia Sacra - probably his most famous and most approachable - is one of my top ten "off the beaten track" symphonies.

We Brits do tend to quietly claim Panufnik as one of our own, though...

Chopin aside, it's probably true that the Poles haven't done as well as, say, the Czechs or the Hungarians among their central European brothers, although recently that has been less the case, with Penderecki and Lutoslawski.

Karlowicz has to be their "what if..." composer, wrote some great music died in his early thirties. Tragic, the Czechs have their Kapralova to ponder too...


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## DaveM (Jun 29, 2015)

Art Rock said:


> Of the romantic composers: Stanisław Moniuszko, Henryk Wieniawski, Zygmunt Noskowski. Also deserving mention: Moritz Moszkowski,Ignacy Jan Paderewski.
> 
> But really one of the very best: Mieczysław Karłowicz, who died far too young (try his violin concerto!).


The Karlowic Violin Concerto is a real find! It's a barn-burner of a work. Incredibly difficult 1st movement. In fact, the violin opens with what sounds like a cadenza, something I've never heard before! It was written in 1902 when he was 26. Unfortunately, he died at only 33.


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## flamencosketches (Jan 4, 2019)

Becca said:


> Polish according to the borders from what period? There is quite a bit that was but isn't and parts that weren't but are.


Ethnically Polish, regardless of borders, any composer who grew up with the Polish language spoken around the house.

I'll count Weinberg - listening to his Kaddish symphony now. It's really beautiful. Shostakovian, maybe, with a much heavier Jewish influence.

Karlowicz VC is next. Excited for this one.


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## CnC Bartok (Jun 5, 2017)

^^^ Do try to hear the Panufnik Sinfonia Sacra (his No.3). It's an ennobling work.


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## PeterFromLA (Jul 22, 2011)

Pawel Szymanski is a super interesting composer. I'd second his name for your list.


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## Heck148 (Oct 27, 2016)

CnC Bartok said:


> ^^^ Do try to hear the Panufnik Sinfonia Sacra (his No.3). It's an ennobling work.


Solti/Chicago produced a stunning performance of this fine work [11/82], released by the CSO on a Solti memorial disc - "The Solti Years"...
it is a knockout, among the highlights is the stunning fanfare work by the expanded trumpet section, which opens and closes the piece - great playing [live performance]


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## CnC Bartok (Jun 5, 2017)

Thanks, I'll look into that one. The CDs I have of this fine work are the Composer conducting the Monte Carlo orchestra, and the new CPO series under Lukasz Borowicz. I knew Solti had a very high opinion of Panufnik, didn't he commission the last symphony?


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## Roger Knox (Jul 19, 2017)

Don't forget Zelenski.


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

Panufnik wrote a superb bassoon concerto. And his Symphonies 9 & 10 are recommended as well as his piano concerto which I have on single discs.

I bought the CPO box so now I need to dig in a listen to the rest of his orchestral works.

Give a listen to the 7th violin concerto of Bacewicz. That's her most modern concerto. And her quartets are superb.


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## Mandryka (Feb 22, 2013)

Nicolaus de Ranon is an Ars Subtilior composer, he's derivative but rather good nonetheless -- I only know of him through this excellent recording


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

Alexandre Tansman (1897-1986) is another significant Polish composer of large orchetral and chamber symphonies, all kinds of chamber music, guitar music, etc... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexandre_Tansman

Violin Concerto





Passacaille for Guitar


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)




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## CnC Bartok (Jun 5, 2017)

......and a reminder that, despite his years living by the river in Twickenham, he was in his heart of hearts, a Pole.


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## Meyerbeer Smith (Mar 25, 2016)

Seconding Stanisław Moniuszko. "Straszny dwor" (The Haunted Manor) is one of the most tuneful operas I know.


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