In September 2019, the Stanislaw Moniuszko International Competition of Polish Music took place in Rzeszów, whose main goal was to promote our native compositions and to draw the attention of musicians around the world to them. The auditions were divided into two categories (performances by pianists and chamber ensembles), which meant that, in less than 10 days, the audience had the opportunity to commune with countless extremely rarely performed gems of Polish music. We present you with selected competition interpretations of participants of auditions in both categories. In addition to the Patron’s works, the albums include compositions by may Polish composers. The present album features the work of Franciszek Lessel and Ludomir Rozycki.

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750), one of the most famous composers of the Baroque era, is already an icon in the history of music. Rediscovered in the 19th century, he still attracts the attention of musicologists researching and studying his work. This extraordinary person evokes curiosity and admiration, while his contribution to the development of music cannot be overestimated. A genius about whom, as it seems, we already know so much, constantly inspires and provokes to in-depth research into his life and musical legacy. Although today our knowledge about this composer and the interpretation of his music is highly advanced, there are still questions and new views on the approach to the genius dormant in the power of the Bach surname, since it does not only concern the master from Leipzig, as is common to say about Johann Sebastian. The musical activity of the Bach family was impressive, and the analysis of the family tree reveals the composer’s solid musical roots. The spirit of genius does not end there as well, as the musical legacy of his sons has also become a permanent part of history.

Thanks to Joseph Herter and the materials he provided, after almost twenty years the achievements and figure of the post-Romantic emigrant composer Zygmunt Stojowski emerged from the depths of oblivion, regaining his rightful position in the musical history of the Polish nation. Zygmunt Stojowski is increasingly recognized and appreciated as a composer, pianist and an outstanding teacher. His piano, symphonic and chamber music is an object of research, and is increasingly appearing in concert hall programs. Meanwhile, in published materials and manuscript that make up Stojowski’s compositional output, vocal forms (mainly songs) appear constantly, albeit irregularly, among various instrumental forms. Stojowski, as a student of W?adys?aw ?ele?ski in Kraków, was brought up in the spirit of the Romantic tradition, which both appreciated and used the form of song, so it is not surprising that they also can be found among Zygmunt Stojowski’s compositions. On this new release, his songs are interpreted by soprano Magdalena Molendowska and pianist Julia Samojlo.

To say that Sikorski’s music is thought-inspiring is not enough. What is more important, it forces us to feel, react, vibrate. And in the case of the repertoire presented in this album, it introduces us to the very essence of the piano. Sikorski’s understanding of the instrument and its possibilities was remarkable. His sounds pierce through us. Only the composer, who fully existed within this sphere of sound, could so convincingly deal with the consequences of the sound’s harmony and repetition, its crescendo and decrescendo, its silence. Tension in Sikorski’s music results from the possibility and willingness to both reveal and conceal emotions with a single stroke of the pen. Passion expressed, passion suppressed, beauty, intensity, solitude, richness of sound and shortage are its essence. These works are beautifully presented by pianist Ezabolcs Esztenyi and the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of Zsolt Nagy.

At the turn of the 20th century, apart from the explosion of new artistic phenomena and aesthetic attitudes in art associated with the modernist movement, the trend of continuing Romantic ideas was still an exploited tendency in music as a way of composing expression. The output of Polish composer, pianist, educator, conductor and music critic Juliusz Wertheim (1880–1928) is kept in the neo-romantic convention. The album by Pawel Pawlik and Szymon Telecki is an excellent opportunity both to study the somewhat forgotten page of the Polish history of music and to confront Wertheim’s works with the music of the most outstanding Polish composers of his time.

Recorded with Estonian National Symphony Orchestra (ERSO), under the baton of Mihhail Gerts, Mihkel Poll's new album features the Everest of piano repertoire - Sergei Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No.3 along with the Concertino by pianist's compatriot, Eduard Tubin. The release follows the album featuring Artur Lemba's Piano Concerto No.1 recorded equally with ERSO under Neeme Jarvi. This is Mihkel Poll's third album released by DUX Records. Born in 1986 in Estonia, Mihkel Poll studied at the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre with Prof Ivari Ilja, recently receiving the PhD in Music, and at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama with Prof Ronan O'Hora. He has also attended the masterclasses by prof Eliso Virsaladze at the Scuola di Musica di Fiesole in Italy. Mihkel Poll has won several prizes in important international competitions including 1st prize at the Rina Sala Gallo International Piano Competition in Italy, 1st prize at the Tallinn International Piano Competition in Estonia and 1st prize at the Ferrol International Piano Competition in Spain.

This new release features the music of Ryo Noda, Doctor of Medicine, Professor of Art Therapy Course, Art and Primary Education Department, Faculty of Arts, Osaka University of Arts, Music-Kinetic Therapist, composer, saxophone player, and Director of the Japan Coma Society. As a composer, he produced and performed educational works such as ballet, theatrical performances, and audio-visual education at the request of the French Ministry of Culture and Ministry of Education, and performed in a contemporary Noh play Kiyotsune, a work commissioned by the French Broadcasting Sta-tion and National Museum of Modern Arts in Paris. His public performances in New York and Montreal, sponsored by the Japan Foundation were critically acclaimed in ‘Le Monde’ and the ‘New York Times’. He was also invited by the Asian Cultural Council and Asia Society, New York to give recitals of his own works, and at the same time, deepened friendships with John Cage, Philip Glass, and other contemporary composers.

Franz Schubert’s Sonata in A major d 959, next to the famous last Sonata d 960, is one of the most enigmatic works of this wonderful artist. Each of its movements, seemingly full of simplicity and numerous references to the classical order, is characterized by a huge expressive individualism, which is a real challenge for the pianist. In turn, Impromptus d 899 are compositions that may not be so enigmatic and mysterious, but at the same time they are full of melodic beauty typical of Schubert. Irina Chukovskaya’s new album, devoted entirely to Schubert’s music, is a great opportunity to discover the talent of this, little known in Poland, great representative of the Russian Piano School.

Composer, musicologist, graphic artist and professor Bugoslaw Schaeffer has more than 550 musical works to his credit, across 23 different musical genres, and his 44 plays have been translated into 17 languages. His works have been performed to great acclaim at home and abroad. Born 6th June 1929 in Lwów (now Lviv, Ukraine), he died 1st July 2019 in Salzburg. The two works on this release were produced in Polish Radio Experimental Studio, and the featured artists include pianists Kuba Sokolowski and Piotr Zabrodzki, with mastering by Piotr Zabrodzki.

In November 1900, the music journalist Yevgeny Petro-vsky gave Rimsky-Korsakov his libretto, entitled Prince Ivan, which is loosely based on Russian folk tales about a mean and ugly wizard. Despite being initially interested in the text the composer eventually rejected it, put off by its unfathomable symbolism. However, in the summer of the following year the score of Wagner’s Siegfried pro-vided inspiration for fresh and innovative harmonic ideas, which he decided to include in a work dealing with motifs of black magic. With the help of his daughter Sofia, he wrote his own script based on Petrovsky’s original, and as early as in spring of 1902 he had a one-act opera in three scenes ready – Kashchey the Immortal – which was successfully staged in Moscow before the year had ended. The work is presented in a brilliant new interpretation on this new release.

The year 1685 bestowed mankind with three geniuses with supernatural talents in composition and improvisation, i.e. Johann Sebastian Bach, Georg Friedrich Händel and Domenico Scarlatti. Only the last two had the opportunity to confront themselves in a direct duel for the title of the winner in the category of the fastest fingers implementing unbridled improvisational ideas. Interestingly, Scarlatti’s sonatas, although deeply rooted in the tradition of the turn of the Baroque and Classicism, are ahead of works of both eras in many respects, while the numerous textural solutions suggested by the composer are a harbinger of harmonically advanced Romantic miniatures. The interpretations featured on this album result from the collaboration of two different, seemingly incompatible worlds. The world of interpretation rooted in early music and that represented by contemporary instruments in relation to the Baroque era. The need for making music together, for dialogue and mutual inspiration as well as for the diversity of perception of performance issues are undoubtedly a great asset of this album.

It is these musicians, full of dedication and responsibility for art, that are needed today in the world. This is the kind of stage creativity that unites the creator’s soul with the soul of the recipient in ecstasy, showing the artist’s genius. The words said by Vladimir Fedoseyev to Victoria Yagling illustrate the enormous respect that this composer and cellist has enjoyed in Russia to this day. Although today Yagling is associated mainly as a phenomenal artist and pedagogue, her composing legacy, especially in Russia, is very popular. Registered in the Main Hall of the Witold Lutoslawski National Forum of Music in Wroclaw, the album of the Reger Duo, co-created by outstanding musicians: Krzysztof Karpeta and Michal Rot, includes the most representative works composed for cello and piano by Yagling over almost 40 years.

Pawel Pudio is a music producer, creative director, and composer from the border of arts. He developes his own artistic projects and composes music on special occasions. Concert pieces and films featuring his music have been presented in Poland, Germany, the Czech Republic, Israel, Estonia, France, and Spain. “War Horns” is a piece for 10 horns, whose world premiere took place at the Solidarity of Arts festival in Gdansk in 2015. The world premiere was accompanied by a sculptural installation, being a kind of spatial continuation of the project’s idea. On this album, a studio recording of this exceptional piece of anti-war expression is presented, performed by international artists in the Concert Studio of the Polish Radio in Warsaw.

Ludomir Michal Rogowski (born on 3 October 1881 in Lublin, died on 13 March 1954 in Dubrovnik) a composer, conductor, and theoretician, throughout his life he was under a great influence of the work by Fryderyk Chopin. By actively participating in the scientific work of the musical community (among others, in 1910 he took part in the First Congress of Polish Composers in Lviv, as part of the second section –Pedagogy and Performance), Rogowski would develop concepts regarding the nature of Polish musical works, whose framework was a postulate for creation of a separate style of Polish music, not subject to external inspirations. This album from Urszula Swierczynska with Dominika Szlezynger, devoted entirely to Rogowski’s works, reveals to us another, forgotten page from the history of the Polish music of the first half of the 20th century.

The present album is an attempt to answer the question whether one musician can perform multi-part pieces. In this case, wind instruments are in a particularly unfavorable situation, because, unlike, for example, the violin or piano, one cannot effectively perform chords on them, not to mention the implementation of several melodic lines. The modern recording technique combined with a suitable computer software allows us to register subsequent voices and then combine them into a whole – it is widely used in popular music. However, in the case of classical chamber music, the requirements for this type of recording are much higher... This album by Aleksander Szebesczyk makes the listeners aware that even on the basis of purely instrumental works, this kind of complicated procedures can result in a number of unique and at the same time convincing sonorist and aesthetic impressions.