Jonathan Plowright and Szymanowski Quartet - Zarębski: Piano Quintet – Żeleński: Piano Quartet (2024) [Hi-Res]

Two important chamber works from 19th-century Poland, in quality equivalent perhaps to Dvořák and Brahms, but completely unknown outside their native country.

Zarebski was a virtuoso pianist, more feted during much of his short life as a performer than a composer. However his Piano Quintet is truly a masterpiece, demonstrating an originality and stature that match and even surpass better-known piano quintets by better-known composers. It shows a remarkably fresh ear for symphonic thinking, motivic development and sheer melodic invention. Zelenski was a teacher rather than a performer, ending his distinguished academic career as Director of the Conservatory in his home town of Krakow. His Piano Quartet is a passionate, lyrical work, combining the Romanticism of Mendelssohn and Schumann with a piquant Slavic element.

The Szymanowski Quartet—half Polish, half Ukrainian—and honorary Pole Jonathan Plowright are the ideal performers of this music.