Wieniawski, Henryk

Preface

Wieniawski, Henri – Suite romantique pour orchestre op. 41

(Lublin, 23 May 1837 – Brussels, 11 November 1912)

(1889?)

Évocation p.3
Scherzo p.18
Idylle p.53
Mazourka villageoise p.60

Polish pianist, composer, conductor and teacher Joseph Wieniawski is the younger brother of the famous violinist-composer Henri (Henryk) Wieniawski (1835-1880). Like his brother, Joseph Wienawski went to the Conservatoire in Paris where he took lessons in harmony between 1847 and 1850 and studied with pianists Pierre Zimmerman and François Marmontel. Later, he took further lessons with Franz Liszt in Weimar and studied counterpoint with Adolf Bernhard in Berlin.

Between 1851 and 1853, he served as his brother’s accompanist, with whom he concertised all over Europe. In those early years he also composed together with his brother, including a Grand duo polonais (1852) for violin and piano. Soon he decided to continue independently as a concert pianist and composer. He toured Europe with his own works, as well as the great repertoire of Beethoven, Schubert, Mendelssohn, Chopin, Liszt and Schumann. He also played works by contemporary Polish composers such as Stanisław Moniuszko and Moritz Moszkowski. Wieniawski often performed in chamber music ensembles and concertised with Henri Vieuxtemps, Eugène Ysaÿe and Joseph Joachim, among others. In 1866, he briefly taught at the Moscow Conservatory, but would thereafter give mostly private lessons. According to Hans von Bülow, he was an excellent pedagogue and provided his pupils with detailed written guidelines.

From 1875 onwards, Wieniawski was the artistic director of a concert organisation in Warsaw (Warszawskie Towarzystwo Muzyczne) for three years, where he also programmed his own works. After resigning there in 1878, he devoted himself more to composing. Meanwhile, he continued to perform in the prestigious halls of the main concert cities, from Warsaw to London, both solo and with orchestra. For instance, he soloed several times in his own Piano Concerto op. 20 and performed the Piano Concerto No. 3 in c op. 37 by Ludwig van Beethoven, for which he wrote his own cadenza, which he also had published. …

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