Karol Szymanowski – Concerto No.2 for Violin & Orchestra – Pala, Lejava & SOSR

Vinyl LP 45 RPM

This album is a winner of the “Record of the Year 2016” in the competition Radio_Head Awards in the category of Classical Music.

Karol Szymanowski (1882 – 1937) – II Koncert skrzypcowy op. 61 (1932 – 33) (24:40)

1 I. Moderato molto tranquillo. Andante sostenuto. Cadenza

2 II. Allegramente molto energico. Ritmo ben marcato. Andantino molto tranquillo. Tempo I. allegramente, animato

MILAN PALA – violin

MARIAN LEJAVA – conductor

SLOVAK RADIO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

Karol Szymanowski

There was a clear sign of pain on his face. Despite of the sickness that was tormenting Kochański, he gave a premiere performance of the second violin concerto in the concert hall of Warsaw Philharmonic under the baton of Grzegorz Fitelberg. This premiere was also his last performance. He passed away in less than four months later in New York on January 12, 1934. For already hurting Szymanowski it was the second death of a close person in a short period of time after his brother Feliks died in December 1933. The American premiere was undertaken by Albert Spalding under the baton of Sergiusz Kusewicky. “Okropną mam ochotę pracować z Pawełkiem! Może się wyłoni jakaś nowa sonata — a bodaj nawet drugi koncert!”, wrote Szymamowski to Kochanski’s wife Zofia on March 9, 1932. Composer’s preferred violinist played the key role in Szymanowski’s works for the violin. Szymanowski sketched the whole concerto in less than four weeks which shows a truly fervent work and Kochański wrote the cadenza himself, just as he did for the first violin concerto. However, the final version of the instrumentation was only finished in September 1933. The reason for this was the preparation of the fourth symphony which had its premiere at the time when Szymanowski started to compose his second violin concerto. The concerto is one of Szymanowski’s last works.

My special thanks belongs to brothers Jan Hus Bursík Filius and Bronislav Bursík, my dear friends who in 2015 built the “Omayra” violin instrument which I play on this LP.
Milan Pala

Recording: Bratislava, Radio and Television Slovakia, Studio 1, January & March 2016
Recording producer: Matej Háasz
Sound engineer: Rostislav Pavlík
Executive producers: Milan Pala & Marian Lejava
Production and Distributin: PAVLÍK RECORDS
Project concept: Milan Pala
Notes and booklet editing: Milan Pala & Marian Lejava
Translations: Peter Fančovič
Photos: Julián Veverica
Design and Artworks: Andrea Labudová
Artwork supervision: Marian Lejava
Publishers: PWM Edition, Max Eschig, Musikproduktion Höflich München (Szymanowski) Universal Edition, Breitkopf & Härtel (Berg)

www.milanpala.com
www.marianlejava.com
www.sosr.sk
www.atelierbursik.cz

Supported using public funding by Slovak Arts Council