Wawrowski, Royal philharmonic orchestra: Phoenix - CD

The Polish composer Ludomir Różycki (1883–1953) is not a very well-known artist in our country and is only gradually being rediscovered on a global scale. His violin concerto, reconstructed and performed in its most authentic form to date in a delayed quasi-premiere by violinist Janusz Wawrowski, is tied to an almost detective-like plot. The work was created in the summer of 1944 under the dramatic circumstances of the Warsaw Uprising. After Różycki and the violin virtuoso Władysław Wochniak, with whom the composer collaborated on some technical aspects, found themselves on the Gestapo's radar, the composer decided to flee the dangers of Warsaw. Before leaving, however, he managed to hide the concerto manuscript in a small case, which he buried in his garden. His house was destroyed during the subsequent war events, and Różycki, who worked in Katowice after the war, never returned and considered the composition lost. However, the buried case was later discovered by construction workers clearing the rubble of Różycki's house, and the manuscript eventually made its way to the National Library of Poland. It should be added that this was a piano reduction, which all previous attempts to reconstruct the orchestral part were based on. Wawrowski was not satisfied with this result and joined forces with the pianist and composer Ryszard Bryła. With his assistance and the help of other experts, they managed to uncover an important fragment in the archives – the first 87 bars of the original orchestral score. Based on this crucial discovery, they were able to reconstruct Różycki's concerto in the most authentic form possible, bringing it closest to the composer's original intention.

Janusz Wawrowski / Royal Philharmonic Orchestra / Grzegorz Nowak

Tracklist

Rózycki, L: Violin Concerto, Op. 70 - I. Andante / II. Allegro deciso / Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 35 - I. Allegro moderato / II. Canzonetta. Andante / III. Finale. Allegro vivacissimo