KAROL SZYMANOWSKI (1882-1937)

 

Violin Concerto No. 1, Op. 35

Violin Concerto No. 2, Op. 61

Nocturne and Tarantella, Op. 28 (orch. G. Fitelberg)

 

Ilya Kaler (violin)

Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra / Antoni Wit

 

Karol Szymanowski was born in the Ukraine into a wealthy artistic family. Following the Russian Revolution the family returned to their native Poland, where Szymanowski found inspiration in indigenous music.

 

His lyrical Violin Concerto No. 1 was dedicated to his great friend, the violinist Pavel Kochański, and is remarkable for its clarity of texture. Inspired by Kochański’s visit to Poland in 1932, the Violin Concerto No. 2 was written towards the end of Szymanowski’s creative life.

 

The two musicians worked together on the score, which shows influences of the music of the Polish mountain people. The intense and virtuosic Nocturne and Tarantella draws on the Impressionism of Debussy and early Stravinsky but also on Middle Eastern culture and folklore.

 

Naxos 8557981