WEINBERG: VIOLIN SONATAS
Mieczysław Weinberg: Violin Sonatas Nos. 1-6; Violin Sonatina
Tatiana Goncharova – piano, Grigory Kalinovsky – violin
NAXOS 8.572320-21 (March 2017)
MONIUSZKO: BALLET MUSIC
Stanisław Moniuszko: Concert Polonaise in A Major; Hrabina: Ballet Music; Marsz żałobny Antoniego Orłowskiego [Funeral March of Antoni Orłowski]; Polonaise in F Major, “Obywatelski” [Civic]; Halka, Act I: Mazurka; Halka, Act III: Tańce góralskie [Highlanders’ Dances]; Ballet Music for Otto Nicolai’s opera The Merry Wives of Windsor; Monte Christo: Mazurka; Jawnuta: Taniec cygański [Gypsy Dance]; Polka, “Leokadia”; Straszny Dwór [The Haunted Manor], Act IV: Mazurka
Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra, Antoni Wit – cond.
NAXOS 8.573610
Stanisław Moniuszko (1819–1872) was Poland’s leading nineteenth-century opera composer, and has been called the man who bridges the gap between Chopin and Szymanowski. Statues were erected in his honor, competitions were named after him, and his portrait was included on postage stamps and banknotes. His life and prolific output ran parallel to the Polish romantic movement; the political upheaval of the times generated a need to express national identity through art; and Moniuszko found a particularly important niche as the Father of Polish National Opera. In addition to operatic works, he also composed purely orchestral music. Unsurprisingly, Polish folk dances found their way into both his stage and concert works. Raymond Bisha introduces us to Moniuszko’s fertile orchestral foray into this world of Polish ballet.
[Sources: press release, blog.naxos.com]