Polish composer Alfons Szczerbiński was born at a time of upheaval in Europe during the second half of the 19th century. A prominent Polish talent in the Romantic mould, Szczerbiński was profoundly influenced by the harmonic models of Bach, Haydn and Mozart. His surviving music is mostly written for the piano but many of his compositions were either lost during the First World War or destroyed by the composer himself. Heard here in their world première recordings, the Chansons sans paroles are Romantic miniatures that possess rich melodic elegance and marvellous phrasal beauty, sometimes redolent of Mendelssohn, Chopin or Liszt.
"Eastern Europe had its tremendous share of wars, disasters and looting. It's a small miracle that some of the scores from the 19th century have survived from that part of the world. In a monastery in Poland, I discovered this astonishing composer: Alfons Szczerbiński. A few of his manuscripts had escaped the fire and destruction of war. His premature death, at only 37 years old, interrupted a compositional career which would surely have seen him rise to be compared with the great names of his time. His melodic invention, rigorous form and a surprisingly fresh creativity definitely deserves to be rediscovered today” (Giorgio Koukl)
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