Adam Siebers violin
Mateusz Doniec viola
Marcel Markowski cello
Łukasz Chrzęszczyk piano
Łukasz Strusiński host
Grzegorz Fitelberg Piano trio in F minor, Op. 10 (excerpt)
Apolinary Szeluto Cello Sonata in F major, Op. 9 (excerpt)
Grzegorz Fitelberg Sonata No. 2 for Violin and Piano in F Major, Op. 12
Zygmunt Noskowski Piano Quartet in D minor, Op. 8 (excerpt)
Władysław Żeleński Mazurka in A major Op. 31 No. 2
Eugeniusz Pankiewicz Mazurka in A minor op. 3 no. 2
Karol Szymanowski Mazurka Op. 50 no. 1
Aleksander Skriabin Mazurka Op. 40 no. 1
When in 1901 the Institute of Veterinary Institute was being established in the Kamionek neighborhood in Warsaw, an unprecedented event for Polish music took place on the Vistula’s left bank – on 5 November, the Warsaw Philharmonic was inaugurated. The composers, who in the following years made their debuts under the name of the Young Polish Composers’ Publishing Company (1905/6) and headlined philharmonic performances almost until the outbreak of World War II, were already studying or were about to study in Zygmunt Noskowski’s (1846-1909) composition class. Among them were Mieczysław Karłowicz (1876-1909), Grzegorz Fitelberg (1879-1953), Karol Szymanowski (1882-1937), Ludomir Różycki (1883-1953) and Apolinary Szeluto (1884-1966).
In the first period, it was Fitelberg who stood out from the group of young composers. Known later as a world-class conductor and promoter of Polish music, he became one of the concertmasters of the Warsaw Philharmonic in 1901. In 1908, at the age of 29, he was employed there as conductor. In 1901, however, everything indicated that Fitelberg would become a composer. This was evidenced by his winning prizes at national and international composition competitions. In the same year, he met Karol Szymanowski with whom he founded the Young Poland group of composers.
Fitelberg’s chamber music will be the focal point of the performance of Sinfonia Varsovia musicians. The concert will feature his Sonata No. 2 in F major for violin and piano, Op. 12 and the monumental Piano Trio in F minor, Op. 10 (excerpts) – both written in 1901. The program will be complemented by an excerpt from Apolinary Szeluto’s youthful Sonata in F major for cello and piano, Op. 9 and a selection of piano mazurkas by various Polish composers of the 19th and 20th centuries. The concert will culminate in an excerpt from Zygmunt Noskowski’s Piano Quartet in D minor, Op. 8 (1879) reminiscent of Brahms’s music.
Łukasz Strusiński
