What exactly was performed by Polish cellists in art salons throughout the 19th century? Naturally, they were no strangers to foreign 'hits' of such artists as Adrien-Franois Servais, Karol Dawydow, David Popper, or Pyotr Tchaikovsky. But were there Polish cello miniatures? Were there salon cello works by Polish composers?
I started answering this question 10 years ago, when it was the Polish cello miniatures that I devoted my PhD thesis to, and, together with pianist Mariusz Dropek, we recorded 11 pieces on the album entitled Les Larmes (there were a few discoveries among them) by such composers as Maria Szymanowska, Ludomir Rzycki, Karol Skarzynski, Samuel Kossowski, Henryk Waghalter, Aleksander Wierzbillowicz, Wladyslaw Aloiz, Antoni Rutkowski, Henryk Konrad Adamus, Zygmunt Noskowski, and Ignacy Feliks Dobrzynski.
This album is a continuation of the recordings made 10 years ago. Since then, my research on Polish music and the number of pieces performed and recorded have increased significantly. In 2011, I thought that those 11 pieces recorded at that time constituted the complete set of Polish cello miniatures; in 2021, I know how wrong I was! Polish music has become an inherent part of my musical identity, and I got the bug from my Dad Professor Andrzej Wrobel.
I love getting to know both famous and lesser-known Polish composers. I am fascinated by discovering the Polish pieces that very often saw their last performance back when only horse-drawn carriages were driving around Warsaw, gentlemen wore tailcoats and top hats, and music was being made mainly in aristocratic and bourgeois salons.
Back then, the cello was only just gaining popularity in the country on the Vistula River. The first Polish cellists, such as Jozef Wagner, Samuel Kossowski, Stanislaw Szczepanowski, or Jozef Szablinski, would tirelessly promote their instrument. It was mainly virtuoso pieces that were performed at that time. Their performances would bring the audience a moment of respite, relaxation, and romantic reverie.
- Anna Wrobel
