Piano
SKU:
HL.48025368
7
Pieces for Piano.
Composed by Simon Laks.
BH Piano. Classical.
Softcover. Bote & Bock
#M202538654. Published by
Bote & Bock
(HL.48025368).
UPC:
196288194293.
Simon
Laks (1901-1983), who
moved from Warsaw to
Paris in 1926 at the age
of 25, belonged to the
large group of composers
from Central and Eastern
European countries who
went down in 20th-century
music history as the
“École de
Parisâ€. Slavic
temperament amalgamated
in their music with
French esprit, the
folklore of their native
countries combined with
the stylistic elements of
neoclassicism and jazz
typical of the time. As a
member of the
“Association of
Young Polish
Musiciansâ€, Laks
quickly made his way into
French musical life.
However, his career was
ended with the beginning
of World War 2 due to the
collaboration of the
Vichy government with
Nazi Germany. Internment
in 1941 was followed by
deportation to Auschwitz
in 1942. Laks survived
the Shoah as a member and
later leader of a camp
band in Birkenau, which
he testified to in his
moving book Music in
Auschwitz. After the
traumatic experiences,
Laks did not return to
regular compositional
activity until the 1960s,
producing an opera,
songs, and chamber music
works, some of which were
awarded important
composition prizes. At
the peak of this
optimistic creative
phase, he composed
incidental music for
Peretz Hirschbein's
famous Yiddish comedy Dem
Schmids Techter (The
Blacksmith's Daughters),
which premiered in New
York in 1918, for a new
production of the play at
the Théâtre de
l’Entrepôt in
Paris. Along with
Prokofiev's Overture on
Hebrew Themes and
Shostakovich's cycle From
Yiddish (Jewish) Folk
Poetry, it is one of the
most significant
20th-century explorations
of art music with Jewish
folklore – homage to
a culture irreparably
destroyed. From the
original score, Holger
Groschopp compiled two
suites, for violoncello
and piano and piano solo,
that capture the essence
of Lak's enchanting drama
music. The premiere
recording of the suites
with Holger Groschopp and
Adele Bitter was awarded
the Opus Klassik 2023 in
the category Editorial
Achievement of the
Year.
Suite for cello and piano
