About two weeks ago we received a FedEx notice that several large parcels, weighing a total of over 120 lbs., were on their way to the PMC. As the delivery date neared, our excitement rose about the contents of this huge shipment. When it finally arrived at the PMC and we opened it, the delight in discovering the bounties donated to us by PWM Editions [Polish Music Publishers], thanks to PWM Director and Editor-in-Chief, Dr. Daniel Cichy, knew no bounds!
Journals & Periodicals
For many years, the PMC has been receiving the periodical Ruch Muzyczny for our library, but for some reason a few years ago regular mail deliveries of this publication stopped. Now, we have received most of the missing back issues (starting from August 2018 to the present) and our subscription has recommenced once again. In addition to Ruch Muzyczny, the PWM shipment also included several recent issues of the journals Polish Rocznik Muzykologiczny and Res Facta Nova with a multitude of fascinating articles that will greatly enrich our music journal collection.
Books & Albums
Thanks to the summer 2021 PWM gift, our book collection will be considerably expanded by a great number of excellent new publications. The highlights include Teresa Chylińska’s magisterial opus, Szymanowski—Pisma muzyczne (Vol. 1 and 2), and her recent bestseller, Karol Szymanowski—Romans, którego nie było? [Karol Szymanowski—A nonexistent romance?]. There are also three monographs, Magdalena Dziadek’s Podróż przez dźwięki, an exploration of works by Stanisław Moniuszko, Lech Dzierżanowski’s biography, Palester, and Marcin Gmys’s Nie tylko Rota, a study of music by Feliks Nowowiejski.
Two books authored by Ryszard Golianek—Polska w muzycznej Europie [Poland on Europe’s music scene] and his compendium on Stanisław Moniuszko in the contemporary perspective will provide a new viewpoint to students of Polish music history.
Four titles by Danuta Gwizdalanka that also arrived in this shipment are as entertaining as they are varied. Her short biography of Lutosławski is an easy read directed towards the larger audience, and her One Hundred Years of Polish Music History will be much appreciated by everyone looking for an authoritative English summary on this topic. Gwizdalanka’s substantial and much-discussed recent biography, Uwodziciel—Rzecz o Karolu Szymanowskim [The Seducer—A Tale of Karol Szymanowski], takes a fresh look at this great composer’s life from a heretofore unexplored angle. Finally, Gwizdalanka’s clever look at music history in her Symfonia na 444 głosy [A Symphony for 444 Voices] provides pithy insides on music based on direct quotes from leading figures in music.
Zofia Helman’s excellent editorial work shines in Roman Palester’s unfinished biography, Słuch absolutny [Perfect Pitch] which also includes Palester’s World War II era letters, and turns this publication into an important source of information on this lesser-studied composer. Krzysztof Kwiatkowski’s Szymański provides some looked-for clarity to the life and work of this enigmatic composer, while Iwona Lindstedt on the pages of her Piszę tylko muzykę [I Only Write Music] draws a very fine portrait of Kazimierz Serocki. Violetta Rotter-Kozera, a musician and film director, examines the iconic 20th century composer in her Kilar. W bliskim planie [Kilar. A Close-up] in a series of conversations about this artist who also wrote successful film music, while Claudio Monteverdi—Życie i twórczość [Claudio Monteverdi—Life and Work] was the subject of Ewa Obniska’s ample volume. And, speaking of texts about composers, Kazimierz Kord’s compact autobiographical Epizody, provides many fine insights to the career of this fascinating and gifted conductor.
Another fascinating title from PWM is Widok piękny bez zastrzeżeń [An Uncritically Beautiful View], an album of Tatra Mountains photographs taken by Mieczysław Karłowicz, an avid skier and great enthusiast of Poland’s Highlands, that comes with comments and mis-en-scène text by Justyna Nowicka and Mariusz Zaruski.
Grzegorz Mania’s Muzyka w prawie autorskim [Music and Authors’ Rights] is a superb and indispensable review of issues connected to copyright whilst Dariusz Terefenko provides an excellent and instructive, step-by-step jazz textbook in his Teoria jazzu od podstaw do poziomu zaawansowanego. Krzysztof Terbunia-Trutka’s magisterial three-volume series, Muzyka skalnego Podhala [Music from the Rocky Podhale] belongs to the category of truly outstanding (and sumptuously published) textbooks with extensive discussion of theory, fingering and notation of the folk music repository from the Tatra Mountain Highlands.
Scores & Sheet Music
Music scores formed a separate category of this PWM mega-donation. Their new series featuring selections of “the most beautiful” music by Grażyna Bacewicz, Fryderyk Chopin, Stanisław Moniuszko and Henryk Wieniawski will be appreciated by amateurs and professionals alike. We also received a beautiful, hardbound source edition of two String Quartets by Moniuszko and an amazing—also hardbound and elegantly-published—score of Jan Stefani’s and Wojciech Bogusławski’s early 19th century opera, Cud mniemany, czyli Krakowiacy i Górale [Almost a Miracle, or the Cracovians and the Highlanders].
On the subject of singing, authors Magdalena Kruszewska-Pulcyn, Włodzimierz Korcz and Kuba Stankiewicz selected many well-known songs for the album, Śpiewajmy Polskę! Antologia Pieśni Patriotycznej [Sing About Poland! An Anthology of Patriotic Songs]. Śpiewak w obcej stronie [A Singer in a Foreign Land] is another anthology of Stanisław Moniuszko’s songs published by PWM.
Finally, in the “varia” category, we received a superb, three-volume clothbound edition, Kościuszko – Artysta [Kościuszko—the Artist]. This great Polish general (and a hero of the American Revolution) was also a gifted amateur musician and painter. The three volumes of this elegant publication present Kościuszko’s watercolors and sketches as well as a large selection of his keyboard compositions.
As usual, these items will be placed in our library and made available to students, faculty and researchers. Thank you, Dr. Cichy and PWM for such a substantial and meaningful gift!