“A New Mode of Expression”: Karol Szymanowski's First
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COPYRIGHT AND USE OF THIS THESIS This thesis must be used in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright Act 1968. Reproduction of material protected by copyright may be an infringement of copyright and copyright owners may be entitled to take legal action against persons who infringe their copyright. Section 51 (2) of the Copyright Act permits an authorized officer of a university library or archives to provide a copy (by communication or otherwise) of an unpublished thesis kept in the library or archives, to a person who satisfies the authorized officer that he or she requires the reproduction for the purposes of research or study. The Copyright Act grants the creator of a work a number of moral rights, specifically the right of attribution, the right against false attribution and the right of integrity. You may infringe the author’s moral rights if you: - fail to acknowledge the author of this thesis if you quote sections from the work - attribute this thesis to another author - subject this thesis to derogatory treatment which may prejudice the author’s reputation For further information contact the University’s Copyright Service. sydney.edu.au/copyright “A NEW MODE OF EXPRESSION”: KAROL SZYMANOWSKI’S FIRST VIOLIN CONCERTO OP. 35 WITHIN A DIONYSIAN CONTEXT Marianne Broadfoot A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Sydney Conservatorium of Music University of Sydney 2014 I declare that the research presented here is my own original work and has not been submitted to any other institution for the award of a degree. II ABSTRACT This thesis examines Karol Szymanowski’s First Violin Concerto, op. 35 as a Dionysian work of music. Written in collaboration with Polish violinist Paweł Kochański, Szymanowski claimed this work heralded a ‘new mode of expression’ for the instrument. One of the primary sources of influence behind this ‘new mode’ can be attributed to the spirit of the ancient Greek god Dionysus, via his late nineteenth-century literary revival by Friedrich Nietzsche and Walter Pater. Tadeusz Miciński’s poem May Night will be examined within the framework of literary movements at the fin-de-siècle. The violin idiom created with Kochański to express this new spirit is examined within the context of the violin concerto genre and late Romantic orchestral repertoire. Finally, Szymanowski and Kochański’s collaborative legacy will be discussed in relation to Prokofiev’s First Violin Concerto and the landscape of twentieth-century violin literature. III To Wanda, With love and gratitude. IV PREFACE I first encountered Szymanowski’s violin music in a concert given by Wanda Wiłkomirska in Melbourne around 1999. Her incredible performances of the Mythes and Notturno e Tarentella inspired me to find and learn these pieces for myself. In 2005 I was fortunate enough to be able to undertake my postgraduate studies with Wanda at the Sydney Conservatorium and the first piece I studied with her was Szymanowski’s First Violin Concerto. It has been such a privilege to study this beautiful music with one of the greatest exponents of Szymanowski’s music. These lessons were so special, for in Wanda’s presence you feel lit up by her radiant spirit and boundless energy. No matter how ordinary I felt going in to a lesson, I would always leave with a buoyant feeling of joy and excitement at the thought of practising the music we had just worked on. This thesis was conceived in response to my wish to better understand this music, which seemed so unlike any other violin music I had previously studied. My time playing in the Sydney Symphony Orchestra has also informed my understanding of Szymanowski’s music within a wider context of the orchestral repertoire. I hope that this thesis will be of interest to both performing musicians and audiences alike, and that the appreciation and understanding of Szymanowski and Kochański’s music will continue to develop in years to come. V ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my warmest thanks to my supervisors, Goetz Richter and David Larkin, for their invaluable assistance throughout this entire process. Without their kind words of encouragement, generous assistance, thought-provoking comments and insightful suggestions I would have not have made it this far. To my friends and colleagues in the Sydney Symphony Orchestra and Enigma Quartet – thank you for putting up with me during this time. Your support and understanding has been greatly appreciated. My thanks also to Marty Sullivan for his wonderful help reading through drafts and advice regarding writing style. Finally, special thanks to my parents for their love, support and encouragement through these years and to Wanda Wiłkomirska for her friendship, generosity and all of the wonderful music. Most of all to Dan, whom I met at the beginning of this journey and have subsequently been engaged and am now married to, thank you for your love and patience. VI TABLE OF CONTENTS PART ONE - Background 1.1 Introduction 1 1.2 Literature Review 8 1.3 Biographical Information 18 i) Karol Szymanowski 18 ii) Paweł Kochański 24 1.4 Fin-de-siècle Poland 31 i) Young Poland in Music 31 ii) Polish National Identity 34 iii) Positivism 38 iv) Tadeusz Miciński 42 VII PART TWO – The First Violin Concerto as a Dionysian Work 2.1 Nietzsche & Szymanowski 47 i) Nietzsche the Musician 47 ii) Szymanowski the Author 55 iii) The Ephebe and Thomas Mann 59 iv) Szymanowski’s Travels 63 2.2 The Birth of Tragedy 67 i) A revitalisation of the Dionysian spirit 67 ii) Wagner and Nietzsche 73 iii) Mediterranean Inspiration 78 2.3 The God Dionysus 84 i) Dionysus in Antiquity and the subsequent appropriation of Dionysian myth 84 ii) The Modern View of Dionysus 92 iii) Dionysus Zagreus 96 iv) Pater and Duality 101 2.4 Miciński’s May Night and the First Violin Concerto 104 i) May Night 104 ii) Dionysian Elements 107 iii) Mystical and Exotic References 114 iv) Nature Symbolism and Duality 117 2.5 The Ecstasy of Song & Dance 122 i) Elements of Nietzsche’s Dionysian music 122 ii) Ecstatic States 126 iii) Song and Dance within the First Violin Concerto 136 VIII PART THREE - Kochański and the Violin Idiom 3.1 Paweł Kochański 140 i) Playing Style and Technique 140 ii) Creative Facilitator 145 3.2 The Violin Concerto 151 i) Nineteenth-Century Romanticism 151 ii) The Virtuoso Violinist/Composer 154 iii) The Violin Concerto at the Fin de Siècle 156 3.3 The Violin Idiom of the First Concerto 159 3.4 Prokofiev’s First Violin concerto 166 3.5 Conclusion 173 Bibliography 176 Appendix: Musical Examples i - lxx IX PART ONE - Background 1.1 Introduction 1 1.2 Literature Review 8 1.3 Biographical Information 18 i) Karol Szymanowski 18 ii) Paweł Kochański 24 1.4 Fin-de-siècle Poland 31 i) Young Poland in Music 31 ii) Polish National Identity 34 iii) Positivism 38 iv) Tadeusz Miciński 42 X 1.1 Introduction Together Paweł and I created in the Mythes and [First] Concerto a new style, a new mode of expression for the violin, something in this respect completely epoch- making. All works by other composers related to this style (no matter how much creative genius they revealed) came later, that is, through direct influence of Mythes and the Concerto, or else with Paweł’s direct collaboration.1 As dithyramb to the spirit of Dionysus, Szymanowski’s First Violin Concerto answered Nietzsche’s musical question and in doing so transformed the landscape of twentieth-century violin literature. Karol Szymanowski (1882-1937) composed three violin works during the First World War; the First Violin Concerto, op. 35 (1916), Mythes, op. 30 (1915) and Notturno and Tarantella, op. 28 (1915). Written in collaboration with Polish violinist Paweł Kochański (1887-1934), Szymanowski claimed these works heralded a “new mode of expression”2 for the instrument. One of the primary sources of influence behind this “new mode” can be attributed to the spirit of the ancient Greek god Dionysus, via his late nineteenth-century literary revival by Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) and Walter Pater (1839–1894). Although commonly considered an Impressionistic work, this thesis argues that Szymanowski’s First Violin Concerto can more accurately be understood as the product of a Dionysian consciousness. This will be demonstrated through a hermeneutical examination of key literary and philosophical texts leading up to the composition of the Concerto, in addition to a contextual evaluation of current musical trends. Whilst Wagner and Nietzsche’s influence has been explored in relation to much of Szymanowski’s output, the importance of these figures, as well as the concepts of a Dionysian music, have been overlooked in regard to the First Violin Concerto, the understanding of which unlocks the true creative spirit behind the work. The European fin-de-siècle was characterised by broad social upheaval and a sense of uneasiness, premonitions that were realised during the horror of World War I. In Poland, the 1 Letter to Zofia Kochańska, Paweł’s wife, 5 March 1930. As quoted in Alistair Wightman, Karol Szymanowski: His Life and Work (Ashgate: Aldershot, 1999), 142. 2 Ibid. 1 long history of partitioning and ongoing suppression of the nation and its peoples exacerbated this situation, impacting on the formation of cultural identities. Throughout much of the nineteenth century the organic evolution of artistic and cultural life in Poland was retarded by sentiments of nationalistic self-preservation—admittedly justified in light of the situation the nation faced. At the turn of the century progressive artistic movements, such as the Young Poland and Young Poland in Music groups, were met with hostility for their supposed ‘decadent’ tendencies, in essence an attempt to modernise the Polish artistic sphere in line with leading European centres.