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Symphony No. 1

Symphony No. 1 (1952)

{slider=Symphony No. 1. Maestoso /fragment/}

Polish Radio and TV Symphony Orchestra, cond. Janusz Przybylski, Katowice 1992

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{slider=Symphony No. 1. Scherzo /fragment/}

Polish Radio and TV Symphony Orchestra, cond. Janusz Przybylski, Katowice 1992

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{slider=Symphony No. 1. Espressivo /fragment/}

Polish Radio and TV Symphony Orchestra, cond. Janusz Przybylski, Katowice 1992

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{slider=Symphony No. 1. Appassionato /fragment/}

Polish Radio and TV Symphony Orchestra, cond. Janusz Przybylski, Katowice 1992

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Symphony No. 1 – score cover
Symphony No. 1
Symphony No. 1

Symphony No. 1
Symphony No. 1

The work was premiered during a concert of Group 49 at Warsaw’s Roma Theatre on 30 May 1952. It is Serocki’s first large symphonic piece and at the same time the first to have been published in print and accepted by the composer. As critics emphasise, it is also a distinctive example of Serocki’s own musical language that emerged from his neo-classical and folkloristic experiments.

Symphony No. 1 comprises four parts, contrasted in terms of expression but sharing a common dramatic feature, the nature of which prompted Tadeusz Marek to call the work a “symphony of struggle”.

Part one, Maestoso, is based on the sonata form, with the first theme being introduced by the strings and the second – by the brass. Interestingly, the first theme does not appear in the reprise at all – that fragment is dominated by the second theme, played by the flute, and the whole part ends with a march-like episode. Part two –  Scherzo  – is an artistic stylisation of the oberek in a simple arch form. Part three is called Espressivo and contains a lyrical theme played by the violins against an ostinato (staccato) accompaniment provided by the piano as well as the violas and cellos. In the finale – Appassionato  – the leading role is played by the first theme (sonata form again), based on a characteristic, “tapped” rhythmic motif which is constantly transformed later on. It also returns triumphantly in the reprise.

 

{slider=Sources:}

  • Tadeusz A. Zieliński, O twórczości Kazimierza Serockiego [On Kazimierz Serocki’s Oeuvre], Kraków 1985.
  • Tadeusz Marek, programme of the second concert of Group 49, 1952.

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Sheet music available from: PWM