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T H E L A T E S T N E W S
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P H O N O G R A P H I C D E B U T
![]() Hubert Rutkowski is a prizewinner of Grand Prix at the Third Recording Competition "Forgotten Polish Music" by Acte Préalable. He made the first CD Recording with piano works of Julian Fontana in the history. The CD is realased as catalog number AP0160 and is available to buy. This CD is the 5th volume of the "Chopin's disciples" series.
Julian Fontana piano works
have a lot of completely new elements, which do not exist in F. Chopin
pieces. J. Fontana created his own orginal music dialect. For example "La
Havanne" op.10 includes a lot of spanish and american
motives. A very known motive, "La Jota Aragonesa", J. Fontana
used as a first composer in 1845. Ferenc Liszt also used this
spanish motive just 18 years later in 1863 in the “Rapsodie espagnol”.
Probably F. Liszt copied motiv "La Jota Aragonesa" from “La Havanne” op.
10 by J. Fontana (Prof. Jan Ekier’s hipothese). Julian Fontana as a first
composer used the motive of cubanian negro songs and mexican songs. He
added the programmatic titles to his compositions, for example: Souvenirs
de l'Ile de Cuba, Une Nuit des tropiques, Le lever du soleil, Souvenir de
Weber and others. J. Fontana composed 12 Reveries
(Etudes-Preludes) au piano op. 8. This is a refined music which
includes R. Schumann and F. Schubert elements.
Julian Fontana (1810-1869) was a multi-talented individual. He was a pianist, composer, piano teacher, trained lawyer, journalist, author and a businessman. A native of Warsaw, Poland, he was proficient in Polish, French, Spanish, English and possibly German and Italian. He used many of his talents in Europe and America in the publication of his own music and the music of his close friend Frederick Chopin. After Chopin's death in 1849, Fontana was chosen by the Chopin family for the posthumous publication of Chopin’s previously unpublished manuscripts. Fontana labored over this task for almost ten years. He refused compensation for this effort and considered it “ a labor of love”. His efforts culminated in the publication of Chopin's Oeuvres Posthumes, ops. 66-73 in 1855 and Chopin's Songs, op. 74 in 1859.
J. Fontana and F. Chopin met themselves when they commenced study at the Warsaw Lyceum in 1823. In 1827 F. Chopin terminated his studies at the Warsaw Lyceum. During his three years of study he was a close friend of J. Fontana. Then J. Fontana participated in the Polish November Uprising in 1830-1831 against Russia. At that time F. Chopin traveled abroad and took up residence in Paris. After the failure of the November Uprising in 1832 Fontana emigrated to Paris and rebuilt his friendship with Chopin. The especial intimacy connected their in 1839-1844. The most of kept Chopin's letters addressed to Fontana comes from that period. (There is 56 Chopin's letters to Fontana).
During the Paris-period Julian Fontana become the student of F. Chopin what Prof. Jan Ekier accentuates in his article "Julian Fontana as the Editor of Chopin Posthumous Works" (Chopin Studies 7, F. Chopin Society, Warsaw 2000). Prof. Jan Ekier presents and analyses this musician, publisher, Chopin’s contemporary and friend when both were in their teens. Fontana’s edition of Chopin’s works never published in the composer’s lifetime, finished in a large degree and prepared for publication by him, created a canon which for many years had defined the approach to the great composer’s legacy. Prof. Ekier identifies three areas - editorial, performing, scientific - of the canon’s impact. Keenly interested in the editorial aspect, the author critically analyses the circumstances leading to the strengthening of the canon and the way it functioned. In the J. Ch. Wessel Edition of Chopin piano works op. 1, 3, 5, 10, 11 is written: "Chopin works edited by pupil of Chopin, J. Fontana". © by Hubert Rutkowski, 2007 |