Release date: tomorrow!
This is a very good symphony which receives its second official recording. Looking forward to it. Played by the Poznan Philharmonic Orchestra under Lukasz Borowicz.
https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/products/9843582--stojowski-symphony-in-d-minor-op-21
Here is another strong recommendation for John,in particular, to buy. I hated the first recording, so I won't be going anywhere near this!
Why did you "hate", presumably, the music, Terry?
I found the recording to be heavy on the brass. I had been tempted to buy because of the reviews on here but (much like the Karlowicz symphony ,purchased when I was a teenager) I found the piece to be too stern and unrelenting for my taste. And,I fear,a little too advanced in some of its musical ideas.
In addition to the Wit recording, I have two others: an older one by the Polish National Orchestra in Kraków under Zbigniew Kravchuk, and a live recording with the Polish Radio Symphony, also led by Borowicz.
Having listened to the new Borowicz recording, I think this is the best of the bunch. The playing from the always-dependable Poznán orchestra is great, and so is the sound. Borowicz has understood that is music that benefits from a dynamic approach; Wit's broader tempo (particularly noticeable in the finale) doesn't really fit here, I feel. Borowicz' live performance is perhaps a tad more exciting, benefiting from the enthusiastic play of the Polish RSO and a very good crowd at the end. But the sound isn't nearly as good, and the excitement comes at the expense of some less sophisticated playing. The Kravchuk is fine as well, but the sonics are not great and, perhaps worse, inconsistently so: too reverberant at times, and seemingly played from the lavatory at others.
To avoid misunderstanding: I love this piece. It's a symphony that is meaty, confidently written but surprisingly introspective at times, substantial but not over-long, musically interesting and also well-balanced, and overall for me epitomizes the "how could this not be heard more often in concert halls?" question that this forum adresses. If you're going to get a recording, get this one: it highlights all the best aspects of the piece.
These are all perfectly valid points.Ilja. I was not impressed by the sound engineer in the previous recording, and found the composition itself to be more than disappointing - oppressive almost - but matters to do with the work itself do come down to individual taste and the capacity (or my lack of it).to move with the times. If you like the Paderewski and the Karlowicz and the heroic nationalist style, then,if this recording is good, you will like the piece itself.
It's a bit of a coincidence that the Stojowski has reared its head only a few days after I was reminded of it (adversely) when I played through my purchase of the Koessler. Both purchases were big mistakes for someone who has never found it possible to enjoy the Firebird Suite.
It seems to me that there's rather a monumental gap between The Firebird and the Stojowski symphony, though.
To be honest, I think there's even a significant stylistic difference between the Karłowicz and the Stojowski. Unlike Stojowski (who went to Paris early in his life), Karłowicz was raised in the Russian part of Poland (Vistula Land), a great admirer of Tchaikovsky, and far less an overt nationalist than Stojowski. His E minor symphony uses a noticeably more modern (and far more Russian) musical language.
You have much more ability to distinguish the style of these three Polish symphonies than I do,Ilja. I was ignorant of Karlowicz' upbringing but ,personally speaking. I have never found his symphony particularly Russian-sounding, and certainly not similar to the contemporaneous symphonies of Glazunov., There are a fair number of Russian symphonies of the first decade of the twentieth century that I find melodic,melancholic,and approachable- the early work of Ippolitov-Ivanov and Stravinsky's first symphonic essay are examples to stand alongside those of Glazunov. Until I read your comments, I assumed that Karlowicz was a Polish nationalist and I certainly find all three of these Polish symphonies to be overblown,raucous,and noisy. My loss,no doubt.
I mentioned the Firebird Suite because it marks a kind of watershed for me,between what I find listenable and pleasurable and what is (to misquote that critic) "music that stinks in the ears". The young Stravinsky composed a wholly delightful Symphony that contrasts to me with the over-striving of these three Polish symphonies. But then he took a path that I can't follow.
I can see a problem arise if visceral satisfaction is your only yardstick. That's also not really a basis for discussion, since it's so innately personal. I'd guess that only about a tenth (at most!) of my music collection of 27000 or so tracks consists of stuff that I like so much that I play it regularly just for fun. The rest is there because it is interesting in some way: because it tries new things (Stravinsky), because it continues very old things (Ippolitov-Ivanov), or more generally because it is part of (and defines) the intricate musical tapestry of the world of romantic music. I'm really grateful to particularly cpo for releasing so much music that, even if I only listen to it once, really helps my understanding of that world.
For me, Paderewski's "Polonia" Symphony falls squarely in that category. I hardly ever listen to it, but the fact that such a piece should be written, as a overtly bombastic manifestation of nationalism, by a person who would subsequently help to form the new Polish state, is fascinating. And in turn it forms a second bookend to Stojowski's first, and helps to contextualize not only that work but other nationalist music of the era. It is important, even if I'm personally not wild about it as a listening experience.
Stravinsky's symphony is hardly even my favorite Russian symphony of that year, but it is interesting (in a biographical rather than geo-political way) next to l'Oiseau de feu because it shows how much of a chameleon one of the most important musical figures of the 20th century could be: writing a Rimskyan symphony to get his degree and then going off to Paris to join the avant-garde. And that was a trick he'd repeat a few times over.
To have fruitful discussions about music, I think our personal aesthetic preferences are not always the best guide, mostly because it's where the discussion stops. We agree, or we don't. That's it.
I'm not going to disagree with any of that,Ilja. And over 27000 tracks (assuming you mean tracks rather that separate compositions) is very impressive. It's coming up to 64 years in March since I started collecting and I reckon that I physically own less than half that number,not being a believer in other than the most essential duplication buying when there is always YouTube to listen to alternative recordings.
I suppose we had better get back to this particular recording. I hope that readers will have had their interest (if not mine!) piqued.
I think I'll have to get this one - I'm very fond of Stojowski and it's one of the (very few) works of his that I don't have.
As an aside, I'm currently listening to a cd on Acre Prealabel, the first volume of his complete piano works and it's wonderful!