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| (10 July 1835 – 31 March 1880) |
Henryk
Wieniawski was born in Lublin, Congress Poland, Russian Empire. He was the son
of a Jewish physician - his mother was the daughter of a Jewish physician.
His father, Wolf Helman, aka Tobiasz Pietruszka, changed his name to Tadeusz
Wieniawski, to better integrate into Polish society. By the time Tadeusz earned
his medical degree he had decided to convert to Catholicism.
At a very
young age Henryk already demonstrated his exceptional talent for playing the
violin. He was promptly enrolled in the
prestigious Paris Conservatoire, but not without initial objections. At issue
was the fact that he was not a French citizen, and was only nine years old! But
genious knows no bounds. When Henryk
graduated he embarked on an extensive tour performing many recitals, while his
brother Jozef accompanied him on piano.
At the
age of 12 Henryk published his first opus, a Grande Caprice Fantastique, which
was only the introduction to what followed - an impressive catalogue of 24 opus
compositions!
Piotr Janowski on violin, "Kujawiak" composed by Henryk Wieniawski
When he
was twenty five years of age, he was smitten by the lovely, demure Isabella
Hampton and became engaged, much to the consternation of her parents. It wasn' t until he wrote his famous Legende,
Op .17, that her parents finally conceded and blessed the happy union. Henryk
and Isabella married in 1860.
Shortly
thereafter Henryk and Isabella moved to St. Petersburg, at the invitation of
Anton Rubinstein, a famous Russian pianist, composer and conductor. Wieniawski
led the Russian Musical Society's orchestra and string quartet, and found time
to teach violin to hopeful young students.
At the
peak of his career, Wienawski replaced Henri Vieuxtemps as violin professor at
the illustrious Conservatoire Royal de Bruxelles.(1875) But unfortunately his health began to decline
and his concert performances were often interrupted abruptly. Four years later Henryk attempted to arrange
a tour of Russia but it was never completed.
Several weeks later he died in Moscow from a heart attack. His remains are interred in Warsaw's Pawazki
Cemetery.
Among his
great compositions, Wieniawski wrote exceptional violin concertos, as well as
two popular mazurkas for solo violin and piano accompaniment. He is renown for developing techniques such
as the left-hand pizzicato, harmonics, large leaps and many double steps. Henryk taught his students the "Wieniawski
bow grip" (previously called the Russian bow grip. It is a rigid bowing technique that allows
the violinist to play what Henryk called a "devil's staccato" with
the greatest of ease. It was the
"devil's staccato" that molded his student's skill at playing violin.
Compositions
Published works, with opus numbers
Grand Caprice
Fantastique, Op. 1
Allegro
de Sonate, Op. 2
Souvenir
de Posen, Op. 3
Polonaise
de Concert No. 1, Op. 4 (sometimes known as Polonaise Brillante)
Adagio
Élégiaque, Op. 5
Souvenir
de Moscow, 2
Russian Romances, Op. 6 (in this work he quoted Alexander Egorovich Varlamov's's
song The Red Sarafan)
Capriccio-Valse, Op. 7
Grand Duo
Polonaise for Violin and Piano, Op. 8
Romance
sans Paroles et Rondo elegant, Op. 9
L'École
Moderne, 10 Études-Caprices for Violin Solo, Op. 10
Le
Carnaval Russe,
Improvisations and Variations, Op. 11
2
Mazurkas de Salon, Sielanka et Piesn Polska (Chanson polonaise),
Op. 12
Fantasie
Pastorale, Op. 13
(Lost)
Concerto
No. 1 in F♯ minor, Op. 14
Thème
Original Varié, Op. 15
Scherzo-Tarantelle, Op. 16
Legende,
Op 17
8 Études-Caprices
for 2 violins, Op. 18
2
Mazurkas caractéristiques, Obertass et Dudziarz (Le Ménétrier),
Op. 19 (NB. No 2 is known as both 'The Bagpipe Player' [ABRSM Vln Gr VIII
Syllabus], and 'The Village Fiddler' [Naxos Records])
Fantaisie
Brillante sur Faust de Gounod, Op. 20
Polonaise
Brillante, Op. 21
Concerto
No. 2 in D minor, Op. 22
Gigue in
E minor, Op. 23
Fantasie
Orientale, Op. 24
Unpublished works, and works without opus numbers:
Wariacje
na Temat Własnego Mazurka (c. 1847)
Aria with
Variations in E major (before 1848)
Fantasia
and Variations in E major (1848)
Nocturne
for solo violin (1848)
Romance (c. 1848)
Rondo
Alla Polacca in E minor (1848)
Duo
Concertant on themes from Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor (c. 1850)
Duo
Concertant na Temat Hymnu Rosyjskiego A. Lwowa (c. 1850)
Duo
Concertant na Temat Rosyjskiej Melodii Ludowej (c. 1850)
Fantasia
on themes from Meyerbeer's Le prophete (oc. 1850)
Mazur
Wiejski (c. 1850)
Fantasia
on themes from Grety's Richard Coeur-de-lion (c. 1851)
Duet on
themes from Finnish songs (c. 1851)
Two
Mazurkas (1851)
March
(1851)
Kujawiak
in A minor (1853)
Wariacje
na Temat Hymnu Rosyjskiego (c. 1851)
Wariacje
na Temat "Jechał Kozak Zza Dunaju" (c. 1851)
Variations
on the Austrian Hymn (1853)
Rozumiem,
pieśń na głos z fortepianem (1854)
Souvenir
de Lublin, concert polka (c. 1855)
Fantasia
on themes from Bellini's La sonnambula (c.1855)
Reminiscences
of San Francisco (c. 1874)
Kujawiak
in C major
Polonaise
Triomphale
Reverie
in F sharp minor na Altówkę i Fortepian
Violin
Concerto No. 3 in A minor? (1878, unpublished, disappeared? Premiered in
Moscow, December 27, 1878)
Suggested
Websites:
Henryk K.
Wieniawski Music Society in Poznan
http://www.wieniawski.com/life_and_creation.html
Stradivarisociety
http://www.stradivarisociety.com/Wieniawski1742.php
Last.fm
http://www.last.fm/music/Henryk+Wieniawski
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