Credits:

Tchaikovsky (1840-1893)

Description:

Violin Concerto by Janusz Wawrowski, "a virtuoso with the heartfelt tone of a poet," written during a difficult period in the lives of the two composers During World War II, the Polish people were brutally oppressed by the occupying forces of Nazi Germany. Polish artists were monitored by the Gestapo, whose goal was to extinguish the country's cultural identity. Ludmil Rudzicki (1883-1953) studied under Humperdinck, composer of the opera Hansel and Gretel, in the early 1900s. When Poland gained independence from Russia after World War I, he was a member of a group of composers (including Szymanowski) who sought to revitalize the music of their country. He achieved particular success with his ballet music, Pan Twardowski (1920), a tale of a 16th-century nobleman who made a Faustian pact with the devil. Rusicki spent the summer of 1944 composing a violin concerto (the Warsaw Uprising took place from early August to early October). First the score was nearly complete with a version for piano and solo violin, and the orchestration needed to be completed.He was spending time with Władyslaw Wozniak, a virtuoso violinist, on the technical aspects of the solo part, but when he realized that he and his family were in danger from the Nazi army, Rudzicki decided to flee Warsaw, putting the music in a suitcase and burying it in his garden. His house was eventually destroyed. His house was eventually destroyed, and after the war Rusicki, who taught in the city of Katowice, about 300 km southwest of the Polish capital, was disappointed at the loss of the concerto's score. He died in 1953, but his buried suitcase was later discovered by construction workers clearing out the ruins of Rusicki's house in Warsaw, and the score in it found its way into the archives of the National Library of Poland. Janusz Wawrowski said of the concerto, "It was several years ago that I first came across a fragment of the score of Ludmil Rudzicki's violin concerto. This wonderful piece immediately spoke to me and the idea came to me that it should be reborn like a phoenix rising from the ashes and enjoyed by audiences around the world." With the help of researchers and much archival scrutiny, he was able to locate the piano reduction of the concerto and the first 87 bars of the full orchestrated score.While some musicians had already completed concertos based solely on piano reductions, Vavlowski worked with pianist/composer Richard Breillat to recreate the work anew, based on orchestrated fragments. He also edited and revised the solo parts to fit into a technique that would allow the violinist to fully reproduce the piece. (1/2) Warner Music Japan

Tracklisting:

1."Phoenix Concerto" for Violin and Orchestra Op. 70~Andante
2."Phoenix Concerto" for Violin and Orchestra Op. 70~Allegro deciso
3.Concerto for Violin and Orchestra Op. 35~Allegro moderato
4.Concerto for Violin and Orchestra Op. 35~Canzonetta: Andante
5.Concerto for Violin and Orchestra Op. 35~Finale: Allegro vivacissimo