The first in a planned series of recordings of Bacewicz’s complete violin output, the album features the composer’s two Sonatas for solo violin, Caprices, the Partita and the Violin Concerto No.7, in which Wawrowski is joined by the National Lithuanian Symphony Orchestra under Modestas Pitrėnas.
It also includes a world premiere recording of Bacewicz’s arrangement of Nicolò Paganini’s Caprice No. 24, performed by Wawrowski with Tymoteusz Bies at the piano.
The album was released by Warner Classics. Wawrowski describes it on Facebook as “an extraordinary musical journey through the world of Grażyna Bacewicz's works and a tribute to one of the most outstanding Polish composers of the 20th century.
Prepare yourself for extraordinary emotions, the discovery of new sounds and an encounter with music that will stay in your memory for a long time.”
Bacewicz was born 116 years ago, on February 5, 1909 in Łódź, central Poland, into a Polish-Lithuanian family.
In the early stage of her career, she achieved international reputation as a virtuoso violinist. In the mid-1950s, she focused almost entirely on composing. She died in 1969.
Bacewicz’s output includes seven violin concertos, two cello concertos, one viola concerto, seven string quartets, four symphonies, one opera, a ballet, five sonatas for violin and piano, two sonatas for solo violin and numerous other chamber pieces.
(mk)