Violin Concerto No. 2
Op. 61, Dz. 6
In his Second Violin Concerto Szymanowski approaches his material in a more traditional way. This is connected both with the general tendencies pervading his later works and with the genesis of the composition. The Second Violin Concerto was also composed in collaboration with Paweł Kochański, but in this case purely practical reason a demand for a composition which would enlarge his friends virtuoso repertoire played a more important role.
The new stylistic tendencies that had appeared in Szymanowskis work after 1920 appear also the Second Violin Concerto. The composer who was then consciously cultivating a style showing distinct nationalistic traits, ones again sought inspiration from Polish highland folklore, in which he saw the fundamental source of Polish folk music. Here, however, the authentic folk material does not appear in the form of actual quotation, as it does in the ballet Harnasie. Following the example of early Stravinski and Bartók, Szymanowski created a sui generis imaginary folklore. A distinctive tonal structure of Polish highland music favoured the artistic transformation of its most typical features and facilitated their fusion into the modern idiom.
In the Second Violin Concerto the composer departs from the aesthetics of neo-impressionism and from refined tone colour both in the instrumentation and in the treatment of the violin part, which is not free from certain traces of conventional virtuosity. On the other hand his use of the performing mannerisms and style of folklore fiddlers from the Polish highlands is an interesting textural novelty.
(based on preface to the Complete Works Vol. 3 by Adam Walaciński, PWM)
- Language of edition: eng, pol
- Number of pages: 92
- Cover: softcover
- Type: score
- Size: A3 vertical
