A fascinating programme composed with key relationships in mind as we were in the company of a real thinking musician with playing of aristocratic weight.Sentiment without sentimentality.The simplicity of Art that conceals Art as Dr Hugh Mather very rightly said at the end of this extraordinary recital A great pianist playing the great works of Chopin that seemed freshly minted as his limpet type fingers delved deep into every note to extract the beauty that is hidden within.Music making of such sensibility and nobility that reminded me of Gilels or Arrau .They were able to delve deep into every key without ever creating a harsh sound as they never hit the keys but seemed to squeeze the sound out of them like a sponge.The climax of the recital was a performance of the Barcarolle that I have never heard played with such beauty as this last great song poured from Chopin’s pen with a mellifluous simplicity that was a distillation of all that had gone before.
The very first phrases of this early nocturne immediately showed that every note had a subtle colouring and meaning from an artist who had something personal to say.Within the framework that Chopin had so genially prescribed Michal was able to add his own very personal sentiments without ever exceeding the limits of a true interpreter.Music that seemed to pour from his fingers with a naturalness as though the music was still wet on the page.The tempestuous interruptions were played with real weight and seemed to grow out of the melodic line where his fingers delved into every note extracting such poignant meaning.The return of the opening melodic line was almost too slow but on a fine line of almost unbearable poignancy.The end of the nocturne leading so naturally into the peaceful opening of the second Ballade.The passionate interruptions that follow were played with red hot drive and impeccable precision gradually wearing itself out as the opening returned as a whisper after such tempestuous outpourings.A coda of shape and style finishing on high as the opening melody returned calming the passionate waters that had interrupted its peaceful path.There was poignant beauty to this miniature tone poem with its desolate nostalgia and controlled freedom.A kaleidoscope of colour where a whole world is described in just a few pages. It was played with real sentiment but never sentimental.Michal like Rubinstein had seen in Chopin an aristocratic nobility of strength and determination that belied the appearance of his sickly presence on earth.There was nothing of the so-called ‘Chopin tradition’ but an interpreter who could read between the lines of an innovative genius.Digging deep and not just skimming the surface for superficial effects that can often mistakenly pass for Chopin playing.The most pastoral of the four Ballades was played with a wonderful sense of line.A long uninterrupted line with a homogeneous sound of velvet richness out of which evolved moments of delicacy and passion.There were moments of transcendental difficulty but without ever breaking the line of nobility where no note however fleeting was thrown away.There were no asides but one long line that lead to the triumphant inevitability of the final climax.An extraordinary control of sound and texture with a freedom that was never allowed to become hysterical or out of control.We were in the hands of a master who with intelligence and determination could guide us with such an assured hand and show us the marvels that can so often seem superficial in lesser hands.A beautifully lyrical Mazurka with an infectious sense of dance and just thrown off at the end in great style.An important introduction to a waltz that was one of Rubinstein’s favourite waltzes that he would play with irresistible beauty and showmanship.Michal too showed us the architectural shape as he played with subtle colours and inflections of beguiling style.A final coda played with the jewel like perfection of a jeux perlé of remarkable finesse.Entering on the heels of the waltz this robust Mazurka was like another circus act bursting onto the scene with rhythmic Polish dance rhythms.Straight into the Barcarolle with the deep C sharp opening the scene where the music was allowed to speak with eloquent simplicity.This must surely be Chopin ‘s most perfect creation as there is no note too many or too little but a continuous outpouring of song.Rich beautiful sounds of a deep inner yearning with a continuous outpouring of almost Schubertian proportions.A timeless beauty as Michal etched sounds out of the piano with heartrending beauty and passion.I have heard Dinu Lipatti play this work and Michal today reminded me of the genius of perfection that one can aspire to.Even the beautiful nocturne like episode before the final build up was played with a delicate richness that was part of an overall architectural understanding.A remarkable performance of powerful beauty from an exemplary artist of great stature.A Mazurka by Paderewski was more a curiosity with its romantic outpourings much less subtle than Chopin.Of course there was something of the spirit of Poland with an ending of poetic suggestion.
A Polish pianist and conductor, Michal Szymanowski graduated with honours from the Academy of Music in Bydgoszcz and studied further at the Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler Berlin. He now works as an assistant lecturer at his alma mater. He has won top awards in a number of national and international music competitions, including Moniuszko International Competition of Polish Music in Rzeszow (2021), Darmstadt International Chopin Piano Competition (2017), MozARTe International Piano Competition Aachen (2016), and Asia-Pacific International Chopin Competition in Daegu (2015) etc. In 2015 he was the highest placed quarter-finalist in the International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw. Michal has performed in many concerts across Europe and throughout the world, including the Palace of Nations in Geneva, the Paul VI Audience Hall in the Vatican (a concert for Pope Benedict XVI),as well as major festivals in Poland and abroad. He has released two solo albums for CD Accord (Naxos), featuring compositions by Fryderyk Chopin, Ignacy Jan Paderewski, Karol Szymanowski and Józef Wieniawski. The recordings were critically acclaimed. One reviewer wrote: “this is heartfelt music-making of the type one associates with such luminaries as Uchida, Schiff and Brendel”.
From Nigel Rogers at the London School of Economics where Michal gave another recital :
“We’ve just had Michal Szymanowski at the lunchtime concerts I put on at LSE. Thank you so much for the recommendation, he really has something. The Barcarolle and the op.59 Mazurkas and the A flat waltz were really exquisite, he’s a very refined poetic player spurning virtuosic show. Has a wonderful sense of line and colour. We’ll definitely have him again.”
ChristopherAxworthy-MusicCommentary 