1. Romance De La Reine Hortense 	
2. Le Depart 	
3. Complainte D'Un Aveugle Qui Demandait L'Aumone Au Jardin Du Roi A Paris 	
4. Romance A Josephine 	
5. Peine Et Plaisir 	
6. Romance Du Saule 	
7. Ballade 	
8. Romance A La Nuit 	
9. Le Connais-Tu 	
10. Se Spiegar Potessi 	
11. Romance Du Prince Galitzine 	
12. Casimir Le Grand 	
13. Hedwige, Reine Polonaise (1374-1399) 	
14. Jean Albert, Roi De Pologne (1459-1565) 	
15. Histoire Du Prince Michael Gliński (1470-1534) 	
16. Stefan Czarniecki (1599-1665) 	
17. Chant De La Vilia 	
18. Chant De La Tour 	
19. Alpuhara, Ballade 	
20. Ondine De Świteź 	
21. Cantilene A Deux Voix

Zapolska Elisabeth, mezzo-soprano
Oort Bart van, fortepiano Broadwood 1825

When choosing which of Maria Szymanowska's songs to include on this disc, the guiding light was the wish to show their diversity. While remaining attached to some singing practices of the period, the composer and woman of letters started to seek a new musical language, linked more to text content and the style of expression used: lyrical, oratory, ironic, libertine and so forth. Some of them were composed after receiving a commission, notably the five Historical Polish Songs by Niemcewicz, three of which found their way into the famous collection published for the first time in 1816. Others were born in the fever of improvisations, which the writers and performers of the period liked to indulge in at artistic salons. The ballads in Polish contain a large number of verses. They are abridged on this disc in order not to tire the modern listener, while conserving the essence of the story being told. The evident understanding between Szymanowska and Mickiewicz, a close friend, and future husband of her daughter Celina, gave Polish culture a few rare jewels. Szymanowska's repertoire for voice and piano possesses the same qualities as that for piano solo: its richness and modernity is only revealed through the creativity of the performer. --- acteprealable.com

Maria Szymanowska was born in the year of the French Revolution. Lest one suspect a link with another Szymanowski, she was actually born Marianna Wolowska into a Jewish family that had converted to Catholicism. She studied in her native Warsaw and performed in Paris where Cherubini, delighted by her pianism, dedicated his Fantasy in C to her. She married one Josef Szymanowski, a well off landowner. Despite having three children she managed extensive tours – Dresden, London, St. Petersburg, and Vienna – as well as composing a sheaf of music. Her reception in Russia was especially strong and she settled in St Petersburg with her daughters in 1827, only to die four years later during a virulent cholera epidemic.

Her songs contain Romances and historical explorations, and she frequently set significant poets both native and international, the latter group including Shakespeare. They are rather typical ballads of the first quarter of the nineteenth century too. Sometimes she writes dappled romances, such as Romance de la Reine Hortense or more theatrical tales such as Le Départ. The French influence that was so aesthetically prevalent is most apparent in Complainte d'un aveugle qui demandait l'aumône au Jardin du Roi à Paris, where its tripping elegance is pleasing. The setting culled from Desdemona’s Willow Song is very much a salon effusion, lacking expressive depth. Her Polish song settings are deeply immersed in balladry. The second of the set of five here is rather a conversational, conventional ballad, where the piano accompaniment is rather more involving than the vocal line, except for some dramatic parlando verses – quotations within the poem – which brings things powerfully to life. Warlike grandeur is alluded to in one of the settings. The last of the set reminds one of the kind of ballads Loewe wrote, or maybe Schubert.

At her worst she succumbs to strophic disease – the endless repetition of ballad verses until one can barely take any more (maybe Wilija counts in the category). Even so, some abridgement has been necessary to cut down on the verses here and elsewhere. At her best she is strong, powerful, with cleverly ambiguous piano writing and intriguing spoken moments.

Bart van Oort plays an 1825 Broadwood, of the type that Szymanowska preferred and he does so with insight and care. Mezzo Elisabeth Zapolska makes a more mixed impression: a thoughtful singer, clearly well versed in the early romantic milieu, she sometimes attacks from under the note and can be hooty.

Still, an interesting impression is left by this disc and note that the booklet cover shows a portrait of the composer painted in 1827 as a new arrival in St. Petersburg. ---Jonathan Woolf, musicweb-international.com

Kompozytorka, wirtuoz fortepianu i człowiek pióra, Maria Szymanowska zrobiła znaczącą karierę, między innymi na carskim dworze w Rosji; oczarowała nawet Goethego, który nie był przecież muzycznym „asem”. Nie przeszła jednak do historii. W tamtych czasach bardzo trudno było zaistnieć kompozytorce-kobiecie.

„Ballady i romanse” Marii Szymanowskiej to kompozycje pełne elegancji i subtelności, skomponowane zgodnie z gustem bywalców salonów tamtych czasów. W większości są one utrzymane w stylu francuskim, jednak tu i ówdzie znaleźć można italianizmy oraz akcenty klasyczne i romantyczne na wzór wiedeński, czy niemiecki, zwłaszcza w partiach fortepianu. Muzyka ta odzwierciedla dobry gust kosmopolity z ferworu świata, w którym Maria Szymanowska odniosła sukces. Całość zdobią jej tylko właściwe akcenty, wyciszony i subtelny wyraz geniuszu, który tak oczarował Goethego, oraz bardzo piękne efekty fragmentów mówionych bądź deklamowanych. --- muzeumliteratury.pl

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CD 1:
Six Menuet
Le Murmure. Nocturne
Danse Polonaise
Twenty-Four Mazurkas or National Polish Dances
Cotillon ou Valse figurée pour le piano
Le Murmure. Nocturne à trois mains
Quatre Valses à trois mains pur le pianoforte
Nocturne in B flat major

CD 2:
Caprice sur la Romance de Joconde
Grande Valse pour le pianoforte à quatre mains
Serenade pour le Pianoforte avec accompagenment de violoncelle
Dix-huit Dances de differents genres
Fantaisie pour le pianoforte
Romance de Monsieur le Prince Aleksander Galitzin

CD 3:
Vingt Exercices et Preludes
Six Marches
Divertissement pour le pianoforte avec accompagnement de violon

Sławomir P. Dobrzański (piano)
with 
Janka Krajciova, Eduardo Orozco, Thomas Alberici, Barry Chi Zhang and Virginia Houser (piano)
Cheung Chau (cello)
Blanka Bednarz (violin)

We can perhaps all be forgiven for not having heard of Maria Szymanowska, though if bells are being rung amongst readers of MWI then this is because her Ballades & Romances have been reviewed previously. By all accounts she is a fascinating character in the sometimes murky world in between the more easily identifiable stylistic aspects of those periods clearly labelled Classical and Romantic. She had no professional education in music other than from private tutors, but became a significant performer through tours in London, Germany, Russia, France, Italy and beyond. She was a friend of John Field and Goethe, and granted the title ‘First Court Pianist to the Imperial Princesses Elizabeth and Maria of Russia’ in 1822. Robert Schumann recognised her talent, if with somewhat faint praise: “If we detect the uncertain woman in form and harmony, we also find a woman full of feeling, who has much more to say, if she only knew how.”

Indeed, Szymanowska is no Schumann, though her piano pieces have on occasion something of a proto Chopin-esque quality to them. The Six Menuets which open this 3 CD set are filled with grace and charm, some with a slightly academic Etude quality to them, but with a few intriguing little harmonic twists, such as in the last of the set in D minor. Following established dance patterns as well as adopting newer trends such as the lyrical Nocturne genre, this catch-all description of ‘grace and charm’ is perhaps a little too general, but does encapsulate the impression left by most of the music here. Szymanowska’s sense of proportion and melodic gift is beyond question, and you can imagine any or all of these pieces bringing life to soirées anywhere in Europe during the early 19th century. The first of the Quatre Valses à trois mains towards the end of CD 1 has a cheeky quality which arguably evokes the spirit of Rossini, and the final track is the Nocturne in B flat major, the wide-ranging melody of which shows Szymanowska at her most expressive.

CD 2 opens with a piece dedicated to John Field, Caprice sur la Romance de Joconde, building on the variation techniques made fashionable by Hummel, who was also a friend of Szymanowska. This has quite a few flourishes one might have thought came from Chopin if struggling for references and is one of the most substantial individual pieces in the entire series. We are treated not only to works with piano solo with three or four hands in this set, but also such pieces as the Sérénade pour le Pianoforte avec le accompagnement de violoncelle. This occupies a different acoustic to the piano works and is a bit vaguely recorded, sounding a bit as if we are sitting behind the stage rather than having the music projected towards us. The work is a set of variations, the cello part intended for amateur use while the piano is given increasingly virtuoso material. Another notable work from CD 2 is the Fantaisie pour le pianoforte, which is full of operatic theatricality and drama and a refreshing change from large sets of dances.

CD 3 opens with the Vingt Exercises et Preludes, which stand as a testament to Szymanowska’s abilities as a pianist. These were known to Schumann, who remarked that “they are delicate azure wings that neither raise or depress the scales, and that no one should roughly touch.” They certainly prove challenging at times even for our soloist Mr. Dobrzanski, who does very well for the most part but does approach cracking point at times.

The Six Marches are also quite technically demanding and orchestral in their approach, and with quotes from Mozart and Russian folk tunes they also cast a wide cultural net. The set concludes with the rondo-form Divertissement pour le pianoforte avec accompagnement de violon, back in the Manhattan and Dickinson College acoustic and its shy microphone placement.

Altogether this is an excellent set of discoveries from the Acte Préalable label, and deserves nothing but plaudits. The piano used is listed as a Bösendorfer Imperial Grand, which has a suitably historical feel without being too far away from what you might consider a modern piano sound. It is in any case suitably in scale for the nature of these pieces. Slawomir P. Dobranski is good, but I can imagine some of these works being played with a little more élan and panache. The other pianists listed join him capably on the duet pieces, including his student the young Barry Zhang, aged 11. --- Dominy Clements , musicweb-international.com

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