September 22, 2014.Panufnik, Shostakovich and Rameau.The Polish composer Andrzej Panufnik was born 100 years ago, on September 24th of 1914 in Warsaw.His mother was a violinist, his father – a famous violin-maker.As a young boy Andrzej showed interest in music but his father didn’t approve, so even though he took piano lessons, the studies were erratic.He never learned to play piano well enough and in order to enter the Warsaw Conservatory had to join the department of percussion instruments.He soon dropped the percussions and switched to conducting and composition. His first known work (a trio) dates from 1934.After graduating, he spent some time studying in Vienna, and then went to Paris.In both cities he heard a lot of new music, from Schoenberg to Berg to Bartók.Panufnik returned to Warsaw shortly before the start of the Second World War.Throughout the war he stayed in the city, like his good friend Witold Lutoslawski; to earn some extra money they played piano duos in cafés.After the war Panufnik picked up several conducting positions and soon became highly respected in this field.He also continued composing, and several of his compositions received national recognition and prizes.But things were changing in the now Stalinist Poland.Like so many composers of the eastern block, he was compelled to write “socialist-realist” music, while some of his serious compositions were severely criticized.Still, as a composer of note, he maintained a relatively privileged position, which allowed him to travel abroad to conduct.During one of these trips, while in Zurich in 1954, he escaped to the West.Both his name and his music were immediately banned in Poland, disappearing as if they never existed.He settled in England where life turned out to be rather difficult: after the initial attention his defection had received he was all but forgotten.To earn money he turned to conducting again; in 1957 he was appointed music director of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra.He held this post for two years but then quit to continue composing full time. His work was occasionally performed in England and the US, but the big break happened in 1963 when his Sinfonia Sacra won the Prince Rainier Competition.Commissions and recordings followed: Leopold Stokowski, himself of Polish descent and a Panufnik champion of many years, recorded his Universal Prayer; Jascha Horenstein also recorded several pieces.Yehudi Menuhin commissioned him a violin concerto and Seiji Ozawa did the same for the Boston Symphony Orchestra.As Panufnik’s fame grew and the regime in Poland got milder, his name was resurrected in his native country.Some of his compositions returned to the concert stage but Panifnik waited for another 13 years, till after the first democratic government had been elected, before visiting Poland.That was in 1990 and Panufnik had just one year to live.He was productive till the end, performing the premier of his Symphony no. 10 in Chicago that same year and completing the Cello concerto, which he wrote for Mstislav Rostropovich, shortly before his death.
We’ll hear two compositions by Panufnik: first the Nocturne, an early work from 1947 (here, performed by the Louisville Orchestra, Robert Whitney conducting), and Autumn Music, from 1962 (Jascha Horenstein leads the London Philharmonic Orchestra, here).
Another eminent composer of the 20th century, Dmitry Shostakovich, was born on September 25th of 1906.Shostakovich and Panufnik knew each other well: they met during Panufnik’s trips to Russia.And as different as their music is, their lives had many things in common: sporadic political prosecution, banned music, pressure to write in the “patriotic,” “socialist-realism” mode, unfortunate compromises they were forced into.Panufnik managed to escape, the more timid Shostakovich would’ve never even dreamed of it.
Also on September 25th but almost two and a half centuries earlier, in 1683, one of the greatest composer of the French Baroque was born, Jean-Philippe Rameau.
Panufnik at 100
September 22, 2014. Panufnik, Shostakovich and Rameau. The Polish composer Andrzej Panufnik was born 100 years ago, on September 24th of 1914 in Warsaw. His mother was a violinist, his father – a famous violin-maker. As a young boy Andrzej showed
interest in music but his father didn’t approve, so even though he took piano lessons, the studies were erratic. He never learned to play piano well enough and in order to enter the Warsaw Conservatory had to join the department of percussion instruments. He soon dropped the percussions and switched to conducting and composition. His first known work (a trio) dates from 1934. After graduating, he spent some time studying in Vienna, and then went to Paris. In both cities he heard a lot of new music, from Schoenberg to Berg to Bartók. Panufnik returned to Warsaw shortly before the start of the Second World War. Throughout the war he stayed in the city, like his good friend Witold Lutoslawski; to earn some extra money they played piano duos in cafés. After the war Panufnik picked up several conducting positions and soon became highly respected in this field. He also continued composing, and several of his compositions received national recognition and prizes. But things were changing in the now Stalinist Poland. Like so many composers of the eastern block, he was compelled to write “socialist-realist” music, while some of his serious compositions were severely criticized. Still, as a composer of note, he maintained a relatively privileged position, which allowed him to travel abroad to conduct. During one of these trips, while in Zurich in 1954, he escaped to the West. Both his name and his music were immediately banned in Poland, disappearing as if they never existed. He settled in England where life turned out to be rather difficult: after the initial attention his defection had received he was all but forgotten. To earn money he turned to conducting again; in 1957 he was appointed music director of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. He held this post for two years but then quit to continue composing full time. His work was occasionally performed in England and the US, but the big break happened in 1963 when his Sinfonia Sacra won the Prince Rainier Competition. Commissions and recordings followed: Leopold Stokowski, himself of Polish descent and a Panufnik champion of many years, recorded his Universal Prayer; Jascha Horenstein also recorded several pieces. Yehudi Menuhin commissioned him a violin concerto and Seiji Ozawa did the same for the Boston Symphony Orchestra. As Panufnik’s fame grew and the regime in Poland got milder, his name was resurrected in his native country. Some of his compositions returned to the concert stage but Panifnik waited for another 13 years, till after the first democratic government had been elected, before visiting Poland. That was in 1990 and Panufnik had just one year to live. He was productive till the end, performing the premier of his Symphony no. 10 in Chicago that same year and completing the Cello concerto, which he wrote for Mstislav Rostropovich, shortly before his death.
We’ll hear two compositions by Panufnik: first the Nocturne, an early work from 1947 (here, performed by the Louisville Orchestra, Robert Whitney conducting), and Autumn Music, from 1962 (Jascha Horenstein leads the London Philharmonic Orchestra, here).
Another eminent composer of the 20th century, Dmitry Shostakovich, was born on September 25th of 1906. Shostakovich and Panufnik knew each other well: they met during Panufnik’s trips to Russia. And as different as their music is, their lives had many things in common: sporadic political prosecution, banned music, pressure to write in the “patriotic,” “socialist-realism” mode, unfortunate compromises they were forced into. Panufnik managed to escape, the more timid Shostakovich would’ve never even dreamed of it.
Also on September 25th but almost two and a half centuries earlier, in 1683, one of the greatest composer of the French Baroque was born, Jean-Philippe Rameau.