The work of Czesław Marek (1891-1985), Polish composer and pianist, is likely to be beter known to the Swiss than to Polish audiences. From 1915, the composer lived permanently in Switzerland, and in 1932 he accepted the Swiss citizenship. His compositions, neo-Classical in spirit with occasional impressionist touches, are nevertheless imbued with Polish accents, especially the folk music of Eastern Polish Galicia, his homeland. The compositions on the CD were written in 1914-1918 by a still very young artist. They are all the same fully fledged specimens of the early 20th-century neo-Classicism. The Capriccio and Serenade have strikingly beautiful melodic lines and carefully planned musical forms. The Sinfonietta draws on the music of the French impressionists.
The CD was produced in co-operation with the Czeslaw Marek Foundation in Zurich, which promotes the work of Marek as well as contemporary Swiss composers.