Józef Wieniawski - Dramatic Overture in C-Minor Op. 43 (Wajrak)

Описание: Note: The scan I was working with was missing two pages starting at 4:17, I added some parts so that one could still follow the score.

Józef Wieniawski - Uwertura Dramatyczna C-moll
Alt. Ouverture de Guillaume le Taciturne
Published in 1886

Conductor: Piotr Wajrak
Orchestra: Orkiestra Symfoniczna Filharmonii Podkarpackiej

Józef Wieniawski (1837-1912) was a virtuoso pianist and the brother of the better-known Henryk Wieniawski. Józef's career diverged from that of his brother when he decided to tour Europe as a pianist. This life, of course, bled into his compositional style. Anna G. Piotrowska notes: "He belonged to a group of pianists who composed for their own needs, normally their concerts" [1]. Piotrowska adds that his compositions are homogenous and there is a single style that can be traced through all of his compositions. Despite this, he tried to incorporate any new pianistic idea that he could for the purpose of "showing off" to the audience [1]. The ultimate goal for Wieniawski was concert attendance, so he focused on virtuosity and technique.

Piotrowska intimates that many of these concert pianists' work was well regarded for their time but that their design for a concert audience left them destined for obscurity [1]. It may be the case that pieces designed for the romantic era audience, if they are not great works of art in themselves, could not be successful in any other context.

Guillaume le Taciturne - This overture tells the story of William of Orange, who helped lead the Dutch revolt against the Spanish which would spin out of control and become the Eighty Year's War. During the 16th century, the Spanish controlled what is now the Netherlands, and the Spanish government was extremely harsh on Protestantism. William of Orange, himself a Catholic, was a believer in local autonomy and religious freedom for the people of the Low Countries. He was a powerful landowner with enough resources to launch an invasion of the Low Countries with the intent of encouraging revolts against the oppressive Spanish government. The actions that William of Orange took were not successful immediately, as he failed to gain enough momentum to effectively challenge Spanish rule. But, as history often goes, the oppressors did not change their governing strategy, and more and more rebellions began to take place.

In the book it is written: "It is this great figure from which the composer wanted to draw inspiration, less to describe the tumult of the battles and the military power of his hero, than to symbolize in some way this energetic character, this generous heart, this noble and proud spirit, this man, in a word, of whom Schiller was able to say: "The unalterable calm of his countenance hid an active and ardent soul."

Józef Wieniawski spent a good deal of time in Brussels and the Low Countries generally. In addition, those who are familiar with Polish history can easily see the parallels between William of Orange and his aspirations and those of the countless Polish insurrectionists. An overture with William of Orange as its subject gave Wieniawski an easy outlet to connect with Belgian and Dutch audiences while tying threads to his values as an artist, as a Pole, and as a European living in a context spawned by Enlightenment-era values and thought.

Bibliography
[1] A. G. Piotrowska. “Józef Wieniawski (1837-1912) and His Works Composed in Brussels.” Revue Belge De Musicologie / Belgisch Tijdschrift Voor Muziekwetenschap, vol. 60, 2006, pp. 85–97.