The music of Grazyna Bacewicz (1909-1969) has gained new exposure since greater attention began to be paid to compositions by women, but her piano music, at least outside Poland, is very rarely programmed. Pianist Peter Jablonski makes a major contribution with this selection of Bacewicz piano works, which is entirely distinctive and may well have influenced later composers. Witold Lutoslawski, for instance, admired Bacewicz, and it's easy to hear traces of the concert etudes and piano sonatas heard here in his works in the ...
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The music of Grazyna Bacewicz (1909-1969) has gained new exposure since greater attention began to be paid to compositions by women, but her piano music, at least outside Poland, is very rarely programmed. Pianist Peter Jablonski makes a major contribution with this selection of Bacewicz piano works, which is entirely distinctive and may well have influenced later composers. Witold Lutoslawski, for instance, admired Bacewicz, and it's easy to hear traces of the concert etudes and piano sonatas heard here in his works in the same genres. Bacewicz's piano music, perhaps even more than her orchestral pieces, is rooted in the 19th century, giving an idea of what Chopin might have sounded like if he had somehow landed in post-WWII Poland. There are traces of folk rhythms and melodies in her music, but she is in no way a follower of Bartók. The opening Krakowiak koncertowy ("Concert Krakowiak") is an excellent example; it could be part of the 19th century virtuoso tradition were it not for the harmonic...
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