Last year, I missed the San Francisco debut of Polish guitarist Mateusz Kowalski, but the subsequent word of mouth and a fantastic YouTube video of the entire concert made me determined not to make the same mistake again.
Kowalski is a consummate musician with absolute technical command, a captivating sound, and the ability to vividly communicate a variety of emotions. He has a wide palette of color, articulation, and rhythmic flexibility that he applies to repertoire ranging from the Renaissance to contemporary works, and he has gained particular attention for his performance of Polish guitar composers. His recital on Saturday, Dec. 7, presented by the Omni Foundation at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church, showcased this variety along with a singularly striking item, a transcription for guitar and string quartet of Frédéric Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 2 in F Minor.
The guitar was a popular instrument in 19th-century Poland, and eight transcriptions of Chopin’s Mazurkas were published during the composer’s lifetime (by the same press that put out the original piano versions). The guitar was also notably the accompanying instrument for a cantata written by Chopin’s teacher, Józef Elsner, which was performed on the occasion of Chopin’s departure from Warsaw to Paris. The young composer is said to have commented, “Nothing is more beautiful than a guitar, save perhaps two.”
The arrangement of Chopin’s Second Piano Concerto for guitar elicits a mixed response nonetheless. A modern grand piano is able provide a full tone and sustain a legato, singing interpretation. Playing the piece on classical guitar (or Chopin’s own Pleyel piano) encourages a more subtle approach. Kowalski was accompanied by the excellent Fulmina Quartet from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music (violinists Jeeihn Kim and Mark Chen, violist Zoe Yost, and cellist Seoyeon Koo). The strings were playing the same parts that Chopin used for the Paris premiere of the work in 1832.
Though the Fulmina gave an outstanding interpretation, I missed the warmth of orchestral sound and found the balance between the quartet and guitar to be less than ideal. Far better is Kowalski’s outstanding recording for Poland’s Fryderyk Chopin Institute with the {oh!} Orkiestra on period instruments — an ideal rendering of the lyrical, personal quality of the concerto, with excellent balance and never neglecting the music’s dramatic qualities.
The first half of Saturday’s program was notable for a beautiful homage to Chopin, (szopen) re:membering by Polish composer Marek Pasieczny, which avoids quotation and creates an unusual harmonic world by altering the guitar’s standard tuning. The first movement, “no:cturne,” features a winding melody and expressive rhythmic flexibility; the second, “pre:lude,” has an incessantly repeating note which, as in Chopin’s famous “Raindrop Prelude,” accentuates the ever-changing harmony. The final movement, “ma:zurka (obertas),” sets a chromatic melody to a furious rhythm.
Kowalski played, with panache, transcriptions of Claude Debussy’s “La fille aux cheveux de lin” (The girl with the flaxen hair) and Astor Piazzolla’s “Winter” and “Spring” from The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires — the Debussy more intimate and sensuous, the Piazzolla passionate and mercurial.
The Sonata, Op. 17, allegedly by Franz Werthmüller but actually written by Tilman Hoppstock, brought up memories of Hector Berlioz and Fritz Kreisler, who also wrote pieces they attributed to other composers. In each case, the composer felt his work would not be received dispassionately under his own name. Of course, these deceptions were ultimately discovered. I remember being impressed with the care Hoppstock put into his trickery, actually composing a piano “original” as well as a “19th-century guitar transcription.” The music is delightful, and so was Kowalski’s performance.
The Omni Foundation has an admirable tradition of supporting young musicians with free tickets, master classes, and various performance opportunities. On Saturday, the organization invited the SFCM pre-college division’s Guitar Honors Quartet to open the concert. Trent Park, Emilia Díaz Delgado, Kiran Lee, and Roan Holmes gave spirited performances of “Ländler” from Stephen Goss’s Mahler Lieder and Clarice Assad’s Bluezilian.
