Symphony and symphonic thinking in Polish music after 1956 Beata Boleslawska-Lewandowska UMI Number: U584419 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Dissertation Publishing UMI U584419 Published by ProQuest LLC 2013. Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest LLC 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 Declaration This work has not previously been accepted in substance for any degree and is not being concurrently submitted in candidature for any degree. Signedf.............................................................................. (candidate) fa u e 2 o o f Date: Statement 1 This thesis is the result of my own investigations, except where otherwise stated. Other sources are acknowledged by footnotes giving explicit references. A bibliography is appended. Signed:.*............................................................................. (candidate) 23> Date: Statement 2 I hereby give consent for my thesis, if accepted, to be available for photocopying and for inter-library loan, and for the title and summary to be made available to outside organisations. Signed: ............................................................................. (candidate) J S liiwc Date:................................................................................. ABSTRACT This thesis aims to contribute to the exploration and understanding of the development of the symphony and symphonic thinking in Polish music in the second half of the twentieth century. This was a period when Polish composers, such as Lutoslawski, Gdrecki and Penderecki, among others, contributed profoundly into the symphonic repertoire, not only in the Polish context but worldwide. To understand the changes and developments of the genre after 1956 in Poland, it is necessary to discuss the evolution of the symphony, as well as its role and functions, both in general and in Polish music. Therefore, Chapter One deals briefly with the history and theory of the genre, from its beginnings in the eighteenth century, through its transformations in the period of Romanticism, marked by the appearance of the concert overture and the symphonic poem until its developments in the twentieth century. Chapter Two examines the symphonic tradition in Poland from its appearance on the Polish musical scene until the middle of the 1950s in the context of trends pointed out in Chapter One. The year 1956, when the first International Festival of Contemporary Music ‘Warsaw Autumn’ was held, provides a significant caesura, as it was then that Polish music entered its avantgarde period. Chapter Three, which is the most extended, explores the transformation of the symphony and symphonic principles in the years of the musical avantgarde, which was a time of great artistic ferment in Polish music, bringing many interesting reinterpretations of symphonic features. The symphony as a genre was almost entirely neglected, particularly in the first years of musical avantgarde (1956-65), and the elements of symphonic thinking appeared in other orchestral works. Therefore, a considerable amount of space will be devoted to discussing the symphonic music of the period, besides symphonies as such. The avantgarde period is given special attention as the innovations made by Polish composers, both in symphonic form and, even more, in musical language and techniques (particularly sonorism), hugely influenced the later development of symphonic music in Poland. Chapter Four, concluding the thesis, is devoted to the trends which spread over the country from the middle of the 1970s, opening the post-avantgarde era, with its recreation of the large-scale symphony, as well as the symphonic poem, referring back to the late-Romantic traditions on the one hand and aiming to synthesise the experiences of the whole century on the other. The indicated trends and functions of the symphony in this period link back to the categories marked in Chapter One. A short Postscript gives some information on symphonic activity in Poland following the death of Lutosfawski in 1994. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I could not have written this thesis without the help, support and encouragement of many colleagues and friends. First and foremost, I would like to acknowledge my supervisor at Cardiff University, Professor Adrian Thomas, whose vast knowledge, profound interest in Polish music and attention to detail have indicated me the right paths to improve both my thesis and my scholarship. As an expert on Polish music, he was already the author of a monograph on Gorecki (published in Polish in 1998) when, in 2000,1 went to Cardiff to interview him about Panufhik, whose life and music was then the subject of my own research. About a year later I decided to ask Prof. Thomas to supervise my doctoral studies. Since then he has strongly encouraged my wish to explore the issue of symphony and symphonic thinking in Polish music and it has been a privilege to have him as a supervisor during my research on this subject between 2001 and 2009.1 would also like to thank the other staff at the School of Music, Cardiff University for their friendship and support. I am particularly grateful to the School for supporting my participation in the international conference ‘Polish music since 1945’ which took place in Christ Church University, Canterbury, 30 April - 2 May, 2009.1 would also like to address special thanks to my Cardiff colleague Nicholas Reyland, whose advice and strong encouragement has been of a great importance to me. Many people helped me in my research in Poland. I would like to thank Ewa Buczek from the Polish Radio library and Malgorzata Kosinska, Beata Dzwigaj and Anna Iwanicka from the Polish Music Information Centre library for their generous help in obtaining scores, books and recordings. I would also like to thank my colleagues at the Warsaw Autumn Festival Office from 2001-05 and from the Polish Television from 2005- 09 for their friendly support of this project. I would also like to thank Andrzej Kosowski and Malgorzata Fiedor from Polskie Wydawnictwo Muzyczne (PWM Edition) in Krakow for their help in securing permission to reproduce extracts from the scores in this thesis. Finally, I would like to acknowledge the support of my husband Jaroslaw, whose understanding and encouragement enabled me to finish this thesis, and to my late father, Wladystaw, who always supported my scholarly ambitions but who was not given time to see this thesis finished. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS Preface xv CHAPTER ONE: Towards the symphony and symphonic thinking 1 1.1. The symphony in the Classical period 1 The origins 1 The social aspect and status of the symphony 2 Formal models and the principle of dualism 6 Beethoven 8 1.2. The symphony after Beethoven 9 The crisis of the symphony 9 Romantic developments 11 Changes in formal structure 16 Late-Romantic monumentalism and the idea of continuous development 20 Mahler and the status of the genre at the turn of the century 21 Symphonism 23 13. The symphony in the twentieth century 28 Post-Romanticism 30 Neo-Classicism 31 Dodecaphony 32 The symphony as a public statement 34 Spirituality and the vocal symphony 35 New tonality 36 Formal models 37 The principle of dualism 40 CHAPTER TWO: The symphonic tradition in Polish music before 19S6 44 2.1. The Classical and early Romantic symphony: c. 1750- c. 1835 45 The beginnings of the symphony 45 Romantic tendencies and the rise of nationalism 51 2.2. Lack of orchestras and its effect on symphonic music 56 23. Late-Romantic symphonism in Polish music: c. 1870-1918 60 The concert overture and symphonic poem 61 The symphony at the turn of the century 70 2.4. Modern times in Polish symphonic music: 1918-1956 79 The inter-war years 80 The war years and post-war reconstructions 87 In the shackles of socialist realism 102 CHAPTER THREE: The symphony and symphonic thinking in the musical avantgarde: 1956-1974 113 3.1. Warsaw Autumn Festival and the ‘Polish School’ 114 3.2. Sonorism 122 33. Symphonic thinking in orchestral music 129 Changing style I: Szabelski, Bacewicz and Lutoslawski 131 Changing style II: Baird and Serocki 145 Powerful debuts: Penderecki and Gorecki 164 ix 3.4. The symphony in the avantgarde period 184 Between tradition and experimentation: Mycielski and Meyer 185 An avantgarde experiment: Gorecki’s First Symphony 41959’ 189 The ‘stream of consciousness’: Baird 195 The synthesis of sonoristic explorations: Penderecki and Szabelski 205 Large-scale end-accented form: Lutoslawski and Panufhik 215 A bipartite cosmic model: Gdrecki’s Second Symphony 235 CHAPTER FOUR: The symphony in post-avantgarde times: 1974-1994 250 4.1. Postmodernism 254 4.2. ‘New Romanticism9 260 43. Spirituality and the sacred element 271 4.4. The symphony as a public statement 282 4.5. ‘Pursuing the abstract9 292 POSTSCRIPT 319 BIBILIOGRAPHY 322 X MUSICAL EXAMPLES Ex. 2.1 Bohdanowicz, Symphony D, fourth movement, opening 48 Ex. 2.2 Dankowski, Symphony D, first movement, opening 49 Ex. 2.3 Pietrowski, Symphony D, second movement, opening 50 Ex. 2.4 Eisner, Symphony C, fourth movement, krakowiak theme of the rondo 53 Ex. 2.5 Moniuszko, Bajka , opening theme 61 Ex. 2.6 Zelenski, W Tatrach , second subject 63 Ex. 2.7 Noskowski, Step, opening theme of the steppes 65 Ex. 2.8 Noskowski, Step, Polish theme: the polonaise (Fig. E) 66 Ex. 2.9 Noskowski, Second Symphony ‘Elegiac’, third movement, opening 71 Ex. 2.10 Koffler, Third Symphony, second movement, opening 84 Ex. 2.11 Koffler, Third Symphony, first movement, final bar 85 Ex. 2.12 Palester, Second Symphony, first movement, opening 90 Ex.