Presents
Jozef Krogulski
Piano Quartet in D Major, Op.2
Józef Krogulski (1815-1842) was born in the Polish town of Tarnów. His first lessons were on the piano from his father a concert pianist and composer. He was a child prodigy on that instrument and was at the age of 10 taken by his father on a concert tour of Polish towns and cities as well as several in Germany and the Ukraine. He entered the Warsaw Conservatory at the age of 13 studying with Karol Kurpiński and Józef Elsner. During his short life, he pursued a career as a soloist, conductor, teacher and composer. While most of his works were for piano, he did not ignore chamber music, writing an octet for winds, strings and piano, a string quartet and this piano quartet.
The Piano Quartet in D Major dates from the mid 1830s but cannot be dated exactly. Some sources give 1832 as the date of composition, others 1835, and the German firm Friedrich Hoffmeister of Leipzig published the work in 1839. It was dedicated to his composition teacher Elsner. It is in four movements. The opening Allegro moderato has a very classical sounding main theme, showing the influence of Mozart. The second movement, a lovely and very romantic Adagio, is subtitled ‘La Romanza’ and the music is exactly what one would expect of a romance. A lively, upbeat Scherzo, allegro molto vivace follows. The finale is marked Tempo de Cracovienna. That is the Italian for Krakowiak, which is a fast, syncopated Polish folk dance which originated the region of Krakov (Cracow), the second largest city in Poland, located in the southern part of the country. The Krakowiak along with the Polonaise and the Mazurka were the three most popular Polish dances used by composers. One finds the Krakowiak often in the music of Chopin.
In many ways this piano quartet is noteworthy. First off is the way that it blends the strings with the piano and does not continueally pit the unison strings against the piano in alternating episodes, as was often the case up until this time. Secondly is Krogulski’s frequent use of the tremolo in the string parts, the prior use of which one finds only in the chamber music of Schubert.
Parts: $34.95
