About this Release
“The melodical inventiveness and the harmonical elegance of Alfons Szczerbiński continues to be present also in this second and last instalment of complete piano music. After his premature death he was fully forgotten. After 120 years of oblivion finally this composer finds the right place between other important composers of his time.” — Giorgio Koukl
SZCZERBIŃSKI, ALFONS (1858–1895)
Complete Piano Works • 2
- Giorgio Koukl, piano
Polish composer Alfons Szczerbiński was a Romantic who revered Bach, Haydn and Mozart above all others. Many of his scores were lost during the First World War or destroyed by the composer himself. His most extrovert music exudes the panache and rhythmic brio of Chopin whilst his series of Chansons sans paroles display a flair for harmonic fantasy and melodic beauty reminiscent of Mendelssohn. Giorgio Koukl’s second volume of Szczerbiński’s complete piano music reveals yet more discoveries by this unjustly neglected composer.
Tracklist
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1
Polonez in B-Flat Major, Op. 13 (1890) (00:08:02)
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2
Rondeau in F Major, Op. 1 () (00:06:19)
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3 Romances sans paroles, Op. 8 () (00:09:00 )
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3
No. 1. Souvenir (00:04:01)
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4
No. 2. Désir du printemps (00:02:12)
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5
No. 3. Méditation (00:02:59)
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6
Tema e variazioni in G Minor (edited and completed by G. Koukl) () (00:08:04)
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7
Chanson sans paroles in E Minor () (00:01:44)
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8
Capriccio in D Minor (edited and completed by G. Koukl) () (00:03:39)
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9
Chanson sans paroles in A-Flat Major, Op. 16 () (00:02:55)
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10
Andante con variazioni in F Major (edited and completed by G. Koukl) () (00:12:05)
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11
Chanson sans paroles in C-Sharp Minor, Op. 31 () (00:05:51)
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12
Fuga in C Major (edited and completed by G. Koukl) () (00:03:15)
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The Artist(s)
Giorgio Koukl is a Czech pianist/harpsichordist and composer. He studied at both the Conservatories of Zürich and Milan, where he took part in the masterclasses of Nikita Magaloff, Jacques Février and Stanislas Neuhaus, and with Rudolf Firkušný, friend and advocate of Czech composer Bohuslav Martinů. It was through Firkušný that Koukl first encountered Martinů’s music, prompting him to search out his compatriot’s solo piano works. Since then he has developed these into an important part of his concert repertoire and is now considered one of the world’s leading interpreters of Martinů’s piano music. As a logical continuation of this work, Koukl has recorded the complete solo piano works of Paul Le Flem, Alexander Tcherepnin, Arthur Lourié, Vítězslava Kaprálová, Witold Lutosławski, and more recently, Alexandre Tansman, Vittorio Rieti and Tibor Harsányi. The Composer(s)
The known oeuvre of Alfons Szczerbiński largely consists of works for piano. Even this relatively modest sampling, however, identifies Szczerbiński as a prominent Polish talent in the Romantic mould who took it upon himself to compose music for poems by Adam Asnyk, Michał Bałucki, or Friedrich von Matthisson (some of the latter’s poems were also set to music by Ludwig van Beethoven and by Franz Schubert). Also Available
Grand Piano has gained a reputation for producing high quality recordings of rare keyboard gems. Dedicated to the exploration of undiscovered piano repertoire, the label specialises in complete cycles of piano works by many lesser-known composers, whose output might otherwise have remained unknown and unrecorded.
- info@grandpianorecords.com
