Also nominated for the Best Polka Album vocal or instrumental:
Jimmy Sturr for "I love to polka."

Also reported in Classical Pulse: "Concept albums from Hell" includes Mephisto Magic (London); Mozart at Midnight (Philips) and Penderecki Gala (Sony).

One can also find the "Polka Insider" and "Nancy's Home Page." A polka newsgroup, Alt.Music.Polkas, is growing with each week. Steve Litwin reported this news. You can find him at: http://www.spectra.net/~slitwin/

At The Kosciuszko Foundation In NY:

At The Lincoln Center In NY:

You can hear this great performance on Cambria records CD-1052, available in your local classical record shop. Judith Rosen, author of our book on the life and works of Grazyna Bacewicz, was on hand to autograph her book.

The cycle of songs "Remembrance" was performed by Mark Hoeler, tenor and Paul Kueter, pianist. The composer opened the program with two violin works.

This was reviewed in Gramophone Mar '96 issue. Music critic (MS) remarked, "It is something of a mystery that Szymanowski's two fine violin concertos have not been integrated into the concerto repertoire in the same way that, say, the Bartok or Prokofiev works have - as RL has rightly pointed out in these pages, the Szymanowski `are among the most glorious and intoxicating works in the repertory.'"

"These chamber pieces, represent the best of Scharwenka, which means they are very good." is how Tom Vernier described them in the March issue of CD Review.

The Scharwenka brothers were born near Poznan, Poland in 1847 (Philipp) and 1850 (Franz Xaver). The family settled in Berlin in 1965. A century ago both brothers were famous as educators and composers. Today their compositions are rarely performed. They are listed in the encyclopedias as German-Polish. Their music is saturated with Polish themes and titles. Elan recently reissued the Scharwenka and Paderewski concertos. Gramophone Mar '96 issue calls this a "welcome return."

What caught my eye in this catalog was "Baroque Music in Poland" MCD 015. My favorite choral work, "Ad hymnos, ad cantus" by Szarzynski is on this recording.

Polish composers born in March:

Regarded in Poland as one of the most gifted composers of his generation. In listing some of the most outstanding composers of each generation in this century, we can begin with those born before World War I (Lutoslawski, Panufnik, Bacewicz, Palester), born in the 1920s (Baird, Serocki, Kotonski), in the 1930s (Gorecki, Penderecki), in the 40s (Bruzdowicz, Ptaszynska, Meyer) and in the 50s (Knapik, Krzanowski, Lason and Szymanski).

Szymanski was born in Warsaw, graduated from the Music Lyceum as a bassoon player and then entered the Academy of Music as a composition student of Wlodzimierz Kotonski. He also studied with Tadeusz Baird and under Roman Haubenstock-Ramati in Vienna. Although he visited Darmstadt three times, none of its influence remained with him.

Gloria for women's choir and orchestra won first prize at the Young Polish Composers' Competition in 1979. Another choral work, Lux aeterna for voices and instruments won a prize at the Stuttgart Int'l Bachakademie Competition for sacred music in 1979. Partita 3 was joint winner of the Benjamin Britten Composers' Competition in 1988, while Quasi una sinfonietta was commissioned by the London Sinfonietta in 1990. Appendix for piccolo and ensemble (1983) is one of Szymanski's most widely acclaimed works.

I am sure that the late Lutoslawski (who first told me about this shining star in Polish music) was instrumental in having Szymanski's music published by his own British publisher, Chester Music of London. It is distributed in the U.S. by G. Schirmer, Inc.