# searching for the recording of a concert performed by Halina Czerny-Stefańska in 1949



## Catherine_Investigatrice (7 mo ago)

I saw her mentioned on this forum several times, but I have a specific question. 

I’m seeking her public Chopin concert broadcasted on 25th May 1949, from the radiostation in Poland (actually from the city of Toruń or Bydgoszcz in the region Kujawy and Pomerania). I know that it was retransmitted in Paris, on _Paris-Inter_ radio station, but perhaps in other countries as well. I would be glad to find at least a musical or cultural publication devoted to this period where it could be noticed, mentioned or reviewed out of Poland. 



Could someone give me any hint?


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## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

Catherine_Investigatrice said:


> I saw her mentioned on this forum several times, but I have a specific question.
> 
> I’m seeking her public Chopin concert broadcasted on 25th May 1949, from the radiostation in Poland (actually from the city of Toruń or Bydgoszcz in the region Kujawy and Pomerania). I know that it was retransmitted in Paris, on _Paris-Inter_ radio station, but perhaps in other countries as well. I would be glad to find at least a musical or cultural publication devoted to this period where it could be noticed, mentioned or reviewed out of Poland.
> 
> ...



Have you tried the Chopin Institute?

I use to have their address, if I find it I will add it .


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## Josquin13 (Nov 7, 2017)

It's nice to see someone else here mentioning the pianist Halina Czerny-Stefanska other than me. She's one of my favorite Chopin pianists, along with Maryla Jonas, Jeanne-Marie Darré, Ivan Moravec, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Samson François, Claudio Arrau & Maria Joao Pires in the Nocturnes, & Tamas Vasary in the Four Impromptus. But you've asked a difficult question!, especially in regards to any publications that may have written about or reviewed the Polish radio broadcast of her concert back in 1949. So, I can only offer a handful of (possibly insufficent) suggestions, which you may have already explored (in addition to the Czerny-Stefanska archives at The Fryderyk Chopin Institute in Warsaw, which I presume you've already looked into...?),

1. Do you know what Paris publication or publications reviewed musical concerts in 1949? I'd be surprised if they reviewed a radio concert broadcast from Poland, but it's not impossible, especially considering that Czerny-Stefanska won the Chopin competition that year (& there were some very illustrious French pianists on the judging panel in 1949, including Lazare-Lévy, Marguerite Long, and the French-Brazilian Magda Tagliaferro).

Could it also have been broadcast to Russia?, considering that Czerny-Stefanska had shared the first prize in Warsaw with a Russian pianist, Bella Davidovich & therefore was likely well known to the Russian musical world in 1949. In which case you might write Melodiya to see if it's in their archives. Although unfortunately Melodiya was recently bought out by a private entity, so I don't know what its current status is as a record label.

2. You might also contact the Polish state owned label, Polskie Nagrania Muza, to see if they know anything about the radio broadcast. It might be sitting in their archives, or they may have at one point even released it on LP. I'd also imagine that the Polish radio station that broadcast the concert might have it in their archives, too, considering that they likely still own the recording rights to the concert. (This station is almost certainly whatever the state owned National Polish radio was in those days.)

3. Have you tried to contact the concert hall in Toruńs or Bydgoszcz where she played that night? Perhaps there is information about the concert in their historical archives, which might include a review of the concert from Paris or Russia, or at least reference one. Afterall, Czerny-Stefanska was the first Polish pianist to win the International Chopin prize, so her concert there must have been a big deal.

4. I assume you've already attempted to contact the "Paris-Inter" radio station", if it still exists... ?

5. In addition, have you read the biography that was written about her?-- "Czerny-Stefanska, episodes from the life of the Chopinist", which was published by "Selene" in Warsaw on the 5th anniversary of her death (according to Peter Dietrich, a reviewer on Amazon). Unfortunately, I believe it's only been published in Polish, do read Polish? The biography likely has a bibliography & index that might prove useful, at least, if the 1949 concert gets mentioned in the book.

In regards to whether or not anything from this 1949 concert has appeared on CD (or LP), I can only say that I've heard Chopin recordings by Czerny-Stefanska from 1949 that were not recorded at the Warsaw competition. However, I don't know where they derive from. (If you're interested I can look into this matter further, since I own many of her Chopin recordings.) For example, the recent Hanssler box set, entitled "In love with Chopin" offers six Mazurkas that were recorded in 1949, yet she only played four Mazurkas at the Warsaw competition that year. Again, I don't know where these other two Mazurkas come from. There is also a wonderful Pearl label CD that contains Czerny-Stefanska's earliest Chopin recordings, starting in 1949, which might possibly offer something from the concert you mention? (For me, this Pearl CD shows her Chopin playing at its very best, & is an essential purchase for her artistry, regardless: Halina Czerny-Stefanska - Chopin - Amazon.com Music.)

Otherwise, I can't be of anymore help, sorry. Though if you'd like me to look up recording dates & venues from her earliest Chopin recordings in my collection, let me know. (I'll have to dig these CDs out, since I've not been listening to Chopin lately, & I'm not quite sure where they are...)

P.S. I hope you've heard all of Czerny-Stefanska's later digital era Chopin recordings issued by the Japanese label, Canyon Classics--of the complete Mazurkas, & the complete Nocturnes, as well as a single CD of selected works by Japanese RCA. Unfortunately, these discs are OOP & can be difficult to find these days, but are well worth searching out. Personally, I prefer her Mazurka playing to Arthur Rubinstein's (which is saying something). Though I like Maryla Jonas best of all in the Mazurkas, which to my mind are Chopin's most difficult works to play extremely well.

By the way, while Czerny Stefanska found her six months of 'finishing' studies with Alfred Cortot to be valuable, she did have two important, longer term teachers back in Poland, and to my ears, she doesn't play Chopin like Cortot; though granted there may be some French influence there (as in Chopin's own works). Czerny-Stefanska herself once said that her 'ideal' Chopin pianist was Arthur Rubinstein.

I hope I've said something that helps you in your quest.


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## NoCoPilot (Nov 9, 2020)

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question on a radio concert (Chopin) played in 1949 by Halina Czerny-Stefańska


question on a radio concert (Chopin) played in 1949 by Halina Czerny-Stefańska



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