Franciszek Lessel - Adagio et Rondo a la Polonaise for Piano and Orchestra Op. 9 (Shelley)

Franciszek Lessel - Adagio i rondo a la polonez na fortepian i orkiestrę
1811

Pianist: Howard Shelley
Orchestra: Sinfonia Varsovia

0:00 - Adagio maestoso
6:53 - Polonaise

Franciszek Lessel (1780-1838) was student of Haydn and the author of one of the first Polish piano concertos. He was among the most notable Polish composers of his day, and he held several musical posts throughout his life before seeking a professional life full of fortune management and government inspector work. Before choosing the lucrative life of an administrator over a musical life with poor financial prospects, Lessel was one of the directors of the Amateur Musical Society in Warsaw, he gave concerts, conducted his own pieces in Kraków and Warsaw, played in a string ensemble with Kurpiński and Lipiński while in Lwów, served as a court musician in Łańcut, and even gave lessons in the glass harmonica.

Franciszek's musical education began with his father, Wincenty who was of Czech origin and was likely a court musician in Puławy. It was not long before Franciszek outgrew his father's capacities and those of Warsaw, where Franciszek was born. Therefore, after giving concerts and spending some time in Lwów, the young Franciszek sought after Haydn in Vienna. The two got along extremely well and became good friends despite the age difference. Haydn supported Franciszek financially and bought him notation paper. Naturally, Franciszek soaked up his teacher's knowledge and applied it with much success in his own compositions.

As a composer, Lessel's contributions were enormous, but his reception was modest though positive. His legacy was certainly one of artifacts to be dug up and dusted off rather than emanations of popularity and influence. While he was a pupil of Haydn, he grew to incorporate more of the Viennese brillante style that was coming in vogue in his later work. Polish piano sonatas, for instance, were dominated by Mirecki and Elsner who both had very conservative, Italian leanings. But Lessel brought Haydn, Mozart, and the music of Vienna to his sonatas and to his chamber music. His piano concerto features Polish dance, and his solo piano pieces often feature concrete folk melodies of a slavic origin. By the Adagio et Rondo a la Polonaise for Piano and Orchestra, one can hear the full development of Lessel's brillante style, which demonstrates his movement beyond Haydn in the direction of Hummel. Having written 6 symphonies, at least 8 string quartets, and chamber music of various types, Franciszek Lessel's music gives Polish musicologists one of the most complete portraits of Polish music in transition from the Classical Era to the Early Romantic Era in which most Polish composers, like Elsner, Kurpiński, and Mirecki, would cling to what came before.