SELECTED PRELUDES by RAUL KOCZALSKI
Genre : Classical
Catalogue: Phasma-Music 110
UPC: 731093480928
recording, editing, mastering: Vadim Radishevskiy
Recorded in July at the Concert Hall
of The Grażyna and Kiejstut Bacewicz Academy of Mysic in Łódź, Poland
Recordings was made on a Bosendorfer Grand Piano.
production management: Iwona Glinka
graphic design & photography: Magda Jonczyk
ABOUT THE PROJECT
I present to you recordings representing my subjective selection from the twenty-four Preludes, Op. 65, by Raul Koczalski, a Polish Chopin scholar and author of some of the first phonographic recordings of Fryderyk Chopin's works.
In the context of Koczalski's extensive concert career, it is often overlooked that he was also a composer, and his works still await wider public release. Among these works, I include the cycle of Piano Preludes, Op. 65, which Koczalski composed to commemorate the centenary of Fryderyk Chopin's birth. In this way, he made a subtle reference to Chopin's Preludes, both in terms of their concept of basing them on the circle of fifths and in the character of the masterful miniature incorporated into the cycle.
For me, the Preludes (Op. 65) exemplify the composer's exceptionally intimate expression. Deep in expression, unpredictable, and with a distant allusion to Chopin's inspiration, they provide a fascinating space for interpretation and self-expression.
I invite you to his world of music, whose content is unconventionally devoid of fireworks of virtuosity, and captivated me with its mystery.
Agata Górska-Kołodziejska
CRITICAL COMMENT
Agata Górska-Kołodziejska, attempting to characterize her artistic practice, speaks of a kind of synthesis of its various forms, overlapping and complementing one another, thus constituting the truth about herself and the music to which she devotes herself fully.
I see it as a process that allows her to constantly seek inspiration. All the elements that underpin it - beginning with workshops and educational work with young people, organizing musical events that popularize Polish music, and finally, her piano performances in Poland and abroad- constitute a whole, reflecting the essence of her thinking about the role of art in the contemporary world.
I notice that Agata Górska-Kołodziejska seeks a truth that seems obvious to everyone. This is incredibly important, because asking questions of accepted forms and rules, or even negating existing assumptions, is more an expression of understanding and creation, and not merely of a reproducible action. On the other hand, I sense that the pianist is also searching for some kind of her own truth, which seems most interesting in this case. Speaking of sensitivity, I'm referring here directly to the interpretation of the tunes recorded by Agata Górska-Kołodziejska for her album. Sensitivity, like everything in the process of maturation, undergoes transformation, influencing all our actions. If this isn't always the case, this time we have an excellent example of how this sensitivity influences personality, which is crucial for an artist to persuade and reach their audience.
And so, I return to the concept of "synthesis". The beauty of Agata Górska-Kołodziejska's music, which gives it its originality, is not apparent immediately. It contains a complexity of many elements, impossible to grasp at first with either thought or feeling. Much more concentration and time are needed to uncover the sources from which Agata draws. Yes, the process of synthesis, though still undoubtedly incomplete, reveals the artist's maturity, capable of effortlessly, almost intuitively, selecting sounds and emotions.
Fortunately, upon playing the album, one immediately feels her truly exceptional sensitivity. Agata Górska-Kołodziejska creates a musical world that captivates the listener, drawing them in ever deeper with each subsequent listening. As a result, they gradually discover this complexity, always feeling a lack of knowledge on the subject. They begin to understand that they should feel it more than simply consider her excellent piano skills.
It's as if she wanted to re-embolden our sensibilities. This very emboldening is the key to understanding the essence of her work.
For a classical music lover, a little knowledge of the somewhat forgotten Koczalski is enough to appreciate Agata Górska-Kołodziejska's performing artistry and the importance of this release.
I am convinced that the release of this album, without negating her previous recordings, marks the beginning of a creative journey for this mature pianist, one who will surprise us many more times with her truth.
Piotr Bielawski (Radio Łódź / Ether Jazzu)
BIOGRAPHY
Dr. hab. (Associated Professor) Agata Górska-Kołodziejska, awarded the Order of Merit for Polish Culture, professor at the Academy of Music in Łódź, is a concert pianist and researcher at the G. and K. Bacewicz Academy of Music in Łódź.
She graduated with distinction from the Faculty of Piano, Harpsichord, and Organ at the Academy of Music in Łódź, in the piano class of Prof. Maria Korecka-Soszkowska, simultaneously obtaining a diploma in chamber music under the supervision of Prof. Krystyna Hussar-Moczulska. She also completed Postgraduate Master's Studies at the Academy of Music in Łódź, specializing in piano performance, and completed doctoral studies at her alma mater. She earned her Doctor of Musical Arts from the K. Penderecki Academy of Music in Kraków and her habilitation from the I.J. Paderewski Academy of Music in Poznań.
She serves on the juries of international competitions in Poland and abroad, including the International Piano Competition "Warsaw Chopin" organized by the Warsaw Music Society under the patronage of the TiFC (Warsaw), the Gyorgy Ferenczy International Chopin Piano Competition (Budapest), and the International Piano Competition for Young Talents (Tunis). Agata Górska won the 2nd solo prize at the International Piano Competition in Lithuania, the 3rd prize at the International Piano Competition (Helsingor – Denmark), and has received awards and distinctions for best pianist at the 9th Halina Słoniowska Vocal Competition in Duszniki-Zdrój, the 5th Halina Halska International Vocal Competition in Wrocław, the 11th Inter-University Vocal Competition "In the Circle of Slavic Vocal Music" in Katowice (2009), and many others.
She has collaborated with renowned singers – Urszula Kryger, Beata Zawadzka-Kłos, and Professor Teresa Żylis-Gara – as part of the vocal course in Radziejowice.
Her albums include: "Forgotten Polish Romantic Music for Four Hands" (DUX), "In the Circle of Chopin's Songs" (Academy of Music in Łódź), and the critically acclaimed album "Women of Music. Songs" (DUX). In 2019, "Women of Music. Songs" was named "Album of the Year" by the music magazine HIFI i Muzyka. All recordings have been broadcast on Polish and international radio stations (Polskie Radio, HR2 Kultur). In 2021, she recorded a piano recital of Polih early Romantic music by Fryderyk Chopin and Maria Szymanowska for the Warsaw Music Society.
Agata Górska-Kołodziejska is an internationally active artist. She has performed solo piano recitals in Lyon, Brussels, Bulgaria, Lithuania, Ukraine, and Tunisia. In 2022, with the Polish Camerata Orchestra, she performed the unique Piano Concerto in E-flat major (WoO 04) by L. van Beethoven. In 2023, during the J. Elsner Open Enlightenment Festival with Agata Kalińska and the Apertus Quartet, she gave the Polish premiere of Leopold Kozeluch's Piano Concerto in B-flat major for four hands. She has performed in venues such as Żelazowa Wola, the Ostrogski Castle (now NIFC), and philharmonic halls of Łódź, Częstochowa, and Kraków, the Grand Theatre – National Opera in Warsaw, the Silesian Opera, the Wrocław Opera, and The F. Chopin European Artistic Center in Sanniki.
She has organized numerous music festivals: she is the originator of the Józef Elsner Open Enlightenment Music Festival in Biała (2023), the "Music in a Polish Manor" Festival in Dzierżązna (2012–2015), the "In the Spirit of Kolberg. 200 Years of Polish Music" Festival in Tubądzin (2014). She also serves as the director of the International Virtual Piano and Chamber Music Competition named after M.Szymanowska and K. Kurpiński (2021, 2023) and the "ESSA!" International Polish Music Competition for Children and Youth (2024, 2025).
Product details:
01. Preludium gis-moll op. 65 nr 12 / Prelude G sharp minor, Op. 65 No. 12
02. Preludium a-moll op. 65 nr 2 / Prelude A minor, Op. 65 No. 2
03. Preludium D-dur op. 65 nr 5 / Prelude D major, Op. 65 No. 5
04. Preludium fis-moll op. 65 nr 8/ Prelude F sharp minor, Op.No.65 No. 8
05. Preludium E-dur op. 65 nr 9 / Prelude E major, Op. 65 nr 9
06. Preludium F-dur op. 65 nr 23 / Prelude F major, Op. 65 No. 23
07. Preludium h-moll op. 65 nr 6/ Prelude H minor, Op. 65 No. 6
08. Preludium G-dur op.65 nr 3 / Prelude G major, Op. 65 No. 3
09. Preludium b-moll op.65 nr 16/ Prelude B minor, Op.65 No. 16
10. Preludium c-moll op. 65 nr 20/ Prelude C minor, Op.65 No. 20
11. Preludium cis-moll op. 65 nr 10/ Prelude Cis minor, Op.65 No.10
12. Preludium Es-dur op. 65 nr 19 / Prelude E flat major, Op. 65 No. 19
13. Preludium Des- dur op. 65 nr 15 / Prelude D flat major, v 65 No.15