Romantic Concerto for piano and orchestra (1950)

{slider=Romantic Concerto for piano and orchestra. Allegro ben ritmico /fragment/}

Bogdan Czapiewski - piano, Polish Radio Orchestra, cond. Krzysztof Słowiński, Warsaw 2006

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{slider=Romantic Concerto for piano and orchestra. Lento assai /fragment/ }

Bogdan Czapiewski - piano, Polish Radio Orchestra, cond. Krzysztof Słowiński, Warsaw 2006

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{slider=Romantic Concerto for piano and orchestra. Allegro vivace /fragment/}

Bogdan Czapiewski - piano, Polish Radio Orchestra, cond. Krzysztof Słowiński, Warsaw 2006

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Years later the composer concluded that the work was so imperfect that he decided to withdraw it from the catalogue of his works. If fact, according to Tadeusz A. Zieliński, Concerto is a “testimony to the artist’s already mature talent”, an attempt to revive the “tradition and the poetics of the romantic piano concerto in a modern harmonic language”. Thus, for example, the intense use of the low register, long-breathing, broad phrases and striving for a full, symphonic sound bring Serocki’s concerto closer to Brahms’ tradition. On the other hand, in his use of piano and virtuoso tools, Serocki draws on Ravel and Prokofiev.

The main themes of the composition are based on folk elements. In part one (Allegro ben ritmico), a folk-like theme is based on the pentatonic scale and is very varied rhythmically. Folklore can also be found in the main, lyrical melody of second movement (Lento assai). The finale (Allegro vivace) is, in accordance with the tradition of the genre, in the form of a rondo and is again based on a folk theme – this time on that of the mazurka, which can be interpreted as a reference to the Chopin tradition.

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• Tadeusz A. Zieliński, O twórczości Kazimierza Serockiego [On Kazimierz Serocki’s Oeuvre], Kraków 1985.

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Sheet music available from: PWM