Stojowski: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 2 [Import]

Zygmunt Stojowski (Artist), Martyn Brabbins (Artist), Jonathan Plowright (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 12, 2002)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Hyperion UK
• ASIN: B00005Y0N8
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #191,479 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

From International Record Review - subscribe now

Sigismond Stojowski is a completely forgotten name to all but piano aficionados (and they certainly don't know him as 'Zygmunt' as Hyperion calls him – why? we never refer to, say, Liszt as Ferenc). In his day (1870-1946), his music was played by Paderewski (his teacher and friend), Hofmann, Friedman, Samaroff, Grainger, Kochanski, Enesco and Casals, his works conducted by the likes of Nikisch, von Bulow, Damrosch, Halle and Godard. If it was good enough for them, then it should be good enough for us and indeed listening to these, two of the most dramatic, high-spirited and melodically inspired concertos you have never heard, will make you wonder why we are force-fed a diet of the Tchaikovsky, the Grieg and the rest of today's overplayed fodder. Either of Stojowski's concertos, should they be included in the Proms, would take the roof off the Royal Albert Hall.The First Concerto (1890) is a conventionally structured, bold, skilfully worked virtuoso vehicle with the voices of its dedicatee (Anton Rubinstein), Chopin and Saint-Saens hovering in the background. The Second Concerto (1909-10) comprises a searingly passionate Prelude, a Scherzo, theme and ten variations. All concerned are kept fully occupied throughout its 33 minutes. Stojowski gave the premiere with Nikisch at Queen's Hall in 1913. It caused a sensation when Paderewski, the work's dedicatee, gave its second US performance in 1916. You can see why.This is a simply tremendous release. First, the balance between orchestra and soloist is ideal in the warm but focused acoustic of Dundee's Caird Hall. The Steinway is superbly well captured, heroically powerful but never shrill and with a caressingly lyrical tone at pp and below. Even in the loudest tuttis, the soloist remains a lively presence. Brabbins and Plowright seem to have an almost telepathic understanding of the music and each other's needs. Brabbins's contribution cannot be underestimated, drawing an energetic, characterful and hugely enjoyable response from his Scottish players. This is Plowright's debut recording for Hyperion. To those who have followed his steady and unspectacular career, his playing of these two flamboyant concertos will come as a revelation. He takes your breath away. His sincere musicality combined with thrilling, edge-of-the-seat pianism of the highest order is of the kind you rarely encounter in studio recordings these days. In other words, the Hyperion team present these unjustly neglected concertos in the best possible light, persuasive enough to convince those who characterize such music as 'high tosh' that they may be mistaken. A truly great recording, an award winner if ever I heard one. Jeremy Nicholas

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Inexplicably Overlooked!, March 23, 2003

By 

David Anthony Hollingsworth (Washington, DC USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Stojowski: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 2 (Audio CD)

Those of you who are new to Stojowski's Concerti for Piano and Orchestra will, I promise, be amazed by the originality, fluency, and ambitions that permeate themselves passage after passage. You will be further amazed of how very little Zygmunt Stojowski (1870-1946) is known despite the huge success this composer enjoyed for much of his career. He was hailed throughout Europe as Poland's most outstanding composer after Chopin and his music was pioneered by among the most famous of musical artists like Heifetz, Damrosch, Paderewski, Hans von Bulow, Carl Muck, Monteux, and Nikisch. He's neglect is as big of a blow as, say, the neglect of Medtner, Bortkiewicz, Karlowicz, Myaskovsky, and even Glazunov. Their music are, thankfully, under some revivalism, but even I can't ignore the damage done by decades of their unjustified neglect. Their status would have otherwise been more substantial as a result. Well.....it's our loss.

The First Concerto for Piano & Orchestra (of 1890) is quite an original piece. After a rather sombre opening (Andante poco mosso), the following passage (Allegro un poco maestoso) asserts itself with majesty and dramatic impetus. But the bold yet unexpecting entry of the piano demonstrates Stojowski's unrelenting creative spirits. The poetic rhetoric has flair and the idiom is quite unlike anything I've heard before. The rapt poetry, nobility, and beauty behind the music are spellbinding (think of Bortkiewicz' Lamentations and Consolations as well as his Quatre Morceaux). Thinking of possible influences behind this gorgeous score was no easy task & I've came up rather empty (Chopin comes to mind, but vaguely). The Concerto happened to be dedicated in homage to Anton Rubinstein and the second movement demonstrates that Stojowski was not stranger to the music of his Russian counterpart, like, say, his First Piano Concerto. It's a captivating movement, dreamingly so, and the finale is as fine as the previous movements: heroic, exciting, but with the quiet passages (again evoking Rubinstein somewhat) that simply fail to escape me.

The Second Piano Concerto, written in the Summers of 1909 and 1910, never fails to escape me either. It's marginally a finer piece, with the structure as unusual and original as his language. The opening bars of the Prologue (Andante con moto) is as beautiful and noble as those of Busoni's momentous Piano Concerto of 1902-1904. The rapt poetry @ say, 2'22" have me drawn back onto it to a point of redundancy. Awesome stuff, even in the Scherzo (Presto), which is quite Hollywoodish in character quite suitable for a Disney film. But turn to the set of variations, and you'll witness Stojowski's inventiveness at his very best. They are finely wrought, with a compelling lightness of touch and flair that bring to mind the variations Ernst von Dohnanyi used in his large scaled works, like the Variations on a Nursery Theme, the two symphonies, and the Suite in F sharp op. 19. I confess I cannot choose one variation over the other, as they are all equally well written. Sample, if you will, any of them, and you'll be convinced of the workings of such a creative mind of Poland's outstanding composer since Chopin. Little wonders then that this piece created quite a sensation during a performance in New York City on March 4th, 1915 by the New York Philharmonic under the direction of Paderewski himself. As Joseph Herter mentions in his highly informative sleeve notes, Paderewski's approach was in fact so spacious (45 minutes in duration) that the critics, while praised the work wholeheartedly, criticized its supposedly longwindedness (one critic suggested that some of the variations should be omitted). Stojowski, perhaps reluctantly, concurred, and therefore omitted the sixth variation before his next performance as pianist with Willem Van Hoogstraten conducted the New York Philharmonic in Carnegie Hall (which took place on November 16th, 1924).

I have a feeling that this warmly, incandescent recorded CD will continue to create sensations in its own right. The music shall be given most of the credit here. But, the renderings of Jonathan Plowright is flawless and full of artistry. He has the scores in full measure, and his approach is full of imagination and verve. The quiet pages are simply spellbinding under his hands. It's as though a narration is being told in the way the themes are allowed to blossom in their natural ways. The support of the BBC Scottish Symphony under Brabbins is likewise spellbinding and narrative also. After praising them in their exhilarating, warm-hearted renditions of Lyapunov's Piano Concerti and the Bortkiewicz' two symphonies, I continued to be awed by their understanding of, advocacy on behalf of, and commitment towards the rarests of repertoire. It's definitely a re-assuring, uplifting feeling in the midst of the precarious crisis that's confronting the music industry as we speak. Dare I hope for Hyperion and, if applicable, the same enterprising team to embark on more of Stojowski's works like, say, his Caprice-Oriental, his symphonies, and even his songs?

Humm...like I'm going to be surprised of what Hyperion have up its adventurous, enterprising sleeves.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pretty decent pieces, very good performances, June 22, 2004

By 

chefdevergue (Spokane, WA United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Stojowski: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 2 (Audio CD)

I had heard of Stojowski --- but other than him being one of a talented crop of young Polish composers at the turn of the century, I don't really know anything else about him. The program notes state that he essentially stopped composing around World War I because he refused to keep in step with prevailing musical trends, which contributed to his slide into obscurity.

Armed with that information, I would have assumed that Stojowiski's music would have had the flavor of over-the-top Late Romantic museum pieces, with all of the attendent excess that often accompanied Late Romanticism at the turn of the century. However, I found these to be surprisingly original works, relatively free of clichés, familiar only in as much as they sounded similar to works by some of his comtemporaries like Karlowicz, for example. They may not stand head & shoulders above other compositions of the period, but they are certainly decent pieces that deserve more attention than they have gotten.

A pleasant surprise is the excellent orchestral accompaniment to a top-notch performance by Jonathan Plowright. One of my complaints with a number of Hyperion's other entries in this collection is that excellent performances by the soloist have been undermined by listless, disengaged performances by the orchestra. That is definitely not the case here; the orchestra very much does justice to Stojowski, and makes the listening experience all the more satisfying.

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful Concertos, Outstanding Performances, May 20, 2002

By 

D. A Wend (Arlington Heights, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Stojowski: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 2 (Audio CD)

Zygmunt Stojowski was a pupil of Paderewski and one of Poland's most renowned composers. His reputation began in his twenties during the 1890s and his music enjoyed many performances, albeit until the 20th century caught up and went past his Romantic style. Stojowski never altered his style of composing and, sadly, someone who was regarded as one of the great musicians of his day was forgotten. He immigrated to the United States in 1905 where he became a very popular professor of piano and was given the honor of a concert devoted to his works alone.

Stojowski's piano concertos date from 1890 and 1909/10. Jonathan Plowright and the BBC Scottish Orchestra, conducted by Martyn Brabbins give them a wonderful performance. The First concerto is characterized by lush melodies in the first two movements and a dramatic finale. The Second concerto also goes by the name Prologue, Scherzo and Variations. Paderewski played this concerto in New York and created a sensation with the concert sold out and the audience refusing to leave after the work was played. The Second concerto was hailed as a masterpiece, and once can understand its appeal as you listen. It is characterized by brilliant piano writing and scintillating writing for the orchestra. Why this concerto is not better known is criminal.

The performances on this CD are remarkable and among the best of the Romantic Piano Concerto series. Highest recommendation.