CDs (M)

Maklakiewicz Jan Adam

Muzyka kameralna Jana Adama Maklakiewicza

The Józef Madeja Association in cooperation with the publishing house of the I.J. Paderewski Academy of Music in Poznań has released a unique CD "Chamber music by Jan Adam Maklakiewicz". It contains hitherto unrecorded chamber works by an outstanding and unjustly forgotten Polish composer.

Jan Adam Maklakiewicz is one of the most outstanding Polish composers of the first half of the 20th century. He studied composition with Roman Statkowski at the Warsaw State Conservatory (1921-1925), and then with Paul Dukas at the École Normale de Musique in Paris (1926-1927). His stylistically diverse work includes over 500 catalog items. Pieces from the period of studies with Roman Statkowski derive from the tradition of Romanticism and indicate a clear influence of Mieczysław Karłowicz's style. Beginning in 1926, Maklakiewicz's work made a shift towards modernity due to in his fascination with Karol Szymanowski's music, as well as his studies in Paris, where he learned about the latest trends and tendencies in European music.

Chamber music is of secondary importance in Maklakiewicz's work. The chamber works by Jan Adam Maklakiewicz are mostly miniatures and cyclical pieces consisting of up to three parts. The stylistics of the composition is inspired by early music and Polish folklore, especially of the regions of Podhale and Silesia.

The Polish and world discography includes a few recordings of the composer's works – they are mainly vocal-instrumental and orchestral works. This record release is therefore all the more valuable as it presents compositions recorded for the first time in history. They are: Reflexions, Op. 14 for violin and piano (1926), Ave Maria for cello and piano (1933), Spring in the Countryside. Triptych, Op. 18 for cello and piano (1927) and the Hutsul Suite op. 15 No. 1 for violin and piano (1926). In addition, the album includes selected songs for voice and piano: Lullaby, There is no Cure for Love, I'll Disappear From Your Sight Like a Bird, as well as 2 Japanese Songs: No. 1 Night as a Phantom Image and No. 3 Autumn Carried by the Wind in the version for soprano and piano (1922-23).

Recordings on the album were made by award-winning artists, winners of international music competitions: Piotr Kosarga – violin, Krzysztof Karpeta – cello, Barbara Tritt – soprano and Hanna Lizinkiewicz – piano. The recordings were made on 22-24 September 2021 at the Aula Nova of the Ignacy Jan Paderewski Academy of Music in Poznań. Recording direction, editing and mastering: Konrad Lizinkiewicz.

Co-financed by the Minister of Culture, National Heritage and Sport from the Culture Promotion Fund, as part of the "Musical Trace" programme implemented by the National Institute of Music and Dance.

Media patronage: Polish Music Information Centre POLMIC.