It was in May 1914 that Czeslaw Marek, still just 22 years of age, took up the appointment of professor of piano at the Lwow Conservatory in his native Poland. Within three months, he was a refugee in Prague, having been forced to flee his homeland with his parents following the German invasion of Galicia. By the end of that same year, he had finished his Op 13 Sonata for violin and piano. Quite a find it proves to be, too, comprising a richly resourceful, lucidly plotted opening Allegro moderato, a central Adagio ma non troppo of great lyrical beauty and serenity, followed by an ebullient finale incorporating a touchingly effective backward glance to the two preceding movements just before the witty coda. Not only is Marek's writing always grateful and hugely assured, his ideas are strong and handled with uncommon elegance and fluency. Readers with a penchant for, say, Reger or Korngold will, I fancy, enjoy themselves famously here.
Both the Suite de quatre morceaux, Op 18, and Berceuse (1926) bear a dedication to Marek's violinist wife, Claire Hofer. The former was composed between August 1916 and August 1918 and later comprehensively reworked by Marek into his Op 24 Serenade for violin and orchestra. Moreover, the Suite's concluding Allegro scherzando is in turn an adaptation of the finale of the 1916 Sinfonietta for orchestra (both the Sinfonietta and Serenade can be found on Koch Schwann, A/97). One can't help but be beguiled by the idiomatic flair and heady melodic flow of Marek's inspiration: the Suite's second movement ('Canzone solennelle') is a particularly toothsome morsel, full of romantic ardour and intimate warmth (once more, I was put in mind of Korngold). By contrast, the two pieces for piano duet are of lesser import. Yet again, both are arrangements, the Serenade italienne of the second movement of the aforementioned Sinfonietta, while the 'Jazz-Humoreske' Annemarie derives from the eponymous slow foxtrot for voice and piano dating from August 1937 (available on Koch Schwann).
As in previous volumes in this enterprising project, performances throughout are as unfailingly full of insight as they are dedicated. The excellent production values come courtesy of Chris Craker.
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