NOSPR / Borowicz / Jablonsky / Return into the Unfamiliar - NOSPR

We know virtually nothing about them. The trajectories of their existence end prematurely, without acclaim, soon after their premieres. The scores remain unpublished. And yet, these opuses remain in the composers’ catalogues forever – indeed, their creators often single them out among works of great personal and artistic importance!

Admittedly, the composers referred to here are remembered first and foremost as performers – André Tchaikowsky was a respected pianist and the youngest Polish laureate of the 5th International Chopin Piano Competition, while Grzegorz Fitelberg was a distinguished conductor and founder of the Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra, the predecessor of NOSPR. Nonetheless, many of their compositions demonstrate a high level of skill, musical imagination, and an innovative artistic approach.

At times, the approach may have turned out even too innovative. That may explain why both Piano Concerto No 1 and Symphony No 2 have vanished from concert programmes altogether. After the 1907 premiere of Symphony No 2, Warsaw critics were merciless. ‘Those who have not heard it yet,’ wrote one reviewer scathingly, ‘should imagine a large symphonic orchestra tuning noisily for about half an hour – that should give them a sense of what pleasant [...] harmonies permeate the piece, what orchestration and general substance it offers.’ The same critic accused the composer of indulging in the ‘eccentricities’ reminiscent of Wagner or Strauss.

Half a century later, it was Tchaikovsky’s turn to be accused of eccentricity and instinctive or chaotic behaviour. Artur Rubinstein himself offered his advice, encouraging a more lyrical approach to melody and warning that, if Tchaikovsky continued down that path, he risked writing ‘Bartók’s Concerto No 3’. The composer declined the suggestion, remarking in return that he would not want to end up with… ‘Rachmaninov’s Concerto No 5’.

Formal experimentation, orchestral invention, and radiant energy – the qualities which the two otherwise very different works share – once met with such resistance, now captivate and attract listeners with an added sense of enigma. Perhaps it is time to venture onto these unfamiliar paths to discover whether we may have overlooked something of real value in the history of music...

Piotr Mika („Ruch Muzyczny”)