Bronisław from Poźniak

Bronislaw Ritter von Pozniak (Polish Bronisław Poźniak , [pɔʑɲ̩ak]), (born August 26, 1887 in Lemberg , † April 20, 1953 in Halle (Saale)) was an Austro-German pianist of Polish descent, piano teacher, music writer and editor.

Coat of arms of the Polish noble family Poźniak

Live and act

Bronislaw von Pozniak was born in Lemberg in the Austrian part of the then divided Poland as the seventh child of an engineer and Austrian civil servant from the Polish aristocracy . The mother came from a humble background. Her father was a customs officer. The young Bronislaw's early interest in music initially met with little approval from his parents, since he had been earmarked for a civil servant career. However, as his talent for music, especially the piano, became increasingly evident, his parents gradually gave up the resistance. After the family moved to Kraków , he received lessons from renowned teachers of the conservatory such as Felicjan Szopski (1865–1939), Jerzy Lalewicz (1875–1951) and Władysław Żeleński (1837–1921). After graduating from high school, he attended a newly founded commercial college in Cracow, where there was the possibility of taking the state examination after studying for only two semesters. Only on this condition did the father agree to the artist career.

After his first artistic successes in Lviv and later in Cracow, Pozniak continued his studies in Berlin with the financial sacrifice of his father. Arthur Rubinstein had recommended his own teacher, Heinrich Barth , to Pozniak , a relentless and feared piano professor at the Berlin University of Music , who had such important students as Wilhelm Kempff and Heinrich Neuhaus . Here in Berlin the foundations for the most important components of Pozniak's later work were laid. In addition to performing as a soloist, these were above all his great interest in pedagogical activities (he began to teach at the Ochs-Eichelberger Conservatory in Berlin while studying) and his passion for chamber music, which then led to the founding of a piano trio. Material need accompanied the artistic activities of the now independent musician in Berlin.

In 1915 Pozniak took a piano class at the Wroclaw Conservatory , which was in a rather desolate state. The Silesian capital remained Pozniak's main place of activity for the next 30 years until his escape on February 3, 1945. From 1918 to 1936 Pozniak worked at the Silesian Conservatory and he also took over the master class for pianists when this institution was converted into the State Music School in 1936 . From 1919 to 1925 Pozniak also taught at the Cieplik Conservatory in Beuthen, Upper Silesia, and from 1929 to 1931 he was the director of the master class at the Conservatory of the Polish Music Association in Lemberg, which he took care of once a month from Wroclaw. The appointment to this post was a special honor, as it was the class that the Chopin student Karol Mikuli once looked after. Together with the professor of musicology at the Silesian Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität zu Breslau Arnold Schmitz (1893–1980), Pozniak campaigned for the creation of the University Institute for Music Education and Church Music , an extension of the Institute for Church Music headed by Schmitz and affiliated with the university. and became head of the piano department there too.

The extensive educational work of Pozniak, especially in Wroclaw, but also in other parts of Silesia and the great success of his students in regularly held auditions and concerts made him a sought-after piano teacher, to whom students flocked from all parts of the country and especially from Eastern countries. Of the numerous students, the most successful was the pianist Josef Wagner (1900–1947), winner of the 2nd International Chopin Competition in Warsaw in 1932. Also Hans Otte , Hans Pischner , Gerhard Wohlgemuth , Edmund von Borck , Hans-Georg Burghardt and many other well-known musicians were students of Pozniak.

In addition to this pedagogical work, there was an intensive solo activity, performances in piano duos and, above all, concert tours with his trio in the most important cities in Europe. The Pozniak Trio, which played in changing line-ups, was one of the leading chamber music associations in Europe. Pozniak's trio partners included violinists Hugo Birkigt (1885–1944), Hugo Kortschak (1884–1957), Rudolf Deman (1880–1960), Géza de Kresz (1882–1959), Karl Freund (1904–1955) in the string section ), Hans Dünschede (1907–1999), Eugen Forster, Hans Bassermann (1888–1967), Hans Bastiaan (1911–2012) and the cellists Hugo Dechert (1860–1923), Hans Kindler (1892–1949), Heinz Beyer, Joseph Schuster (1903–1969), Jascha Bernstein , Bernhard Günther, Sigrid Succo and Gregor Piatigorsky (1903–1976). In addition to the (pre) classical-romantic repertoire, the Pozniak Trio also devoted themselves intensively to contemporary composers, such as B. Hans Pfitzner , Hans Gál , Paul Juon , Paul Kletzki , Egon Kornauth , Ludomir Różycki and Hans-Georg Burghardt .

When the Second World War broke out, Pozniak was harassed by the Nazis as a 'Pole' and a 'foreigner', even though he had in the meantime received German citizenship. Because he played with Jewish artists, he was blacklisted by the National Socialist rulers, suspended from work at the university institute for a year, but then reinstated. His solo activities and appearances with the Pozniak Trio were boycotted in Silesia for the same reason, and he had to answer two Gestapo trials after being denounced.

The escape from the Russian army from Breslau on February 3, 1945, led Pozniak and his family first to Markranstädt , then in August 1945 to Leipzig , where he stayed for three and a half years and later to Halle (Saale). In his memoirs, the now homeless, jobless and almost penniless Pozniak describes the difficulties with which the unwelcome and badly treated refugees had to fight and how he, the once celebrated and popular pianist and educator, stood up against the united front of hostile colleagues had to maintain. Efforts to revive the Pozniak trio initially failed due to administrative harassment. There were also targeted negative concert reviews from the press. A small group of musicians, such as Günther Ramin , Walter Niemann , Wilhelm Weismann , and his students stood by him, whose family had to live on the small earnings of the younger son. But despite all resistance, it was possible to gain a foothold again in the educational as well as in the artistic field. Wilhelm Weismann, at that time editor at Edition Peters, succeeded in entrusting the new edition of the piano works to Frédéric Chopin Pozniak , organized on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of Frédéric Chopin's death in 1949, and also supported him in the completion of the book Chopin. Practical instructions for studying Chopin's works , which were then published by Mitteldeutscher Verlag in Halle (Saale) in 1949.

In the meantime, Pozniak had been appointed professor by Hans Stieber , the first rector of the State University for Theater and Music , which was newly founded in 1947 , as had Sigfrid Grundis , known as a Liszt player , with whom he was on friendly terms. At the same time, Pozniak taught at the Institute for Music Education at the Pedagogical Faculty of the Martin Luther University in Halle . The number of students in Leipzig and Halle grew, so that the work was difficult to cope with. Pozniak decided, also because of the political situation, which made it impossible to perform abroad, to give up concerts and to devote himself to publishing in addition to teaching. In addition to the improved new edition of the ABC of the piano player , which was published in 1948 by the Robert Forberg publishing house, Pozniak prepared a new edition of Ludwig van Beethoven's piano sonatas for the Mitteldeutscher Verlag in Halle , of which only the first volume could be completed and that of the edition Peters in Leipzig. He also published an album of piano music by Russian and Soviet masters for Edition Peters in 1953 (Edition Peters No. 4574).

The enormous workload, the sometimes adverse living conditions, the unexplained fate of his eldest son Jan, who was missing in the war, exhausted the strength of the musician, who was especially revered by the youth in his new homeland. Bronislaw von Pozniak died on April 20, 1953 in Halle from a heart condition. He is buried in the cemetery in Nottensdorf , where his youngest son Andreas (died 2013) lives. A memorial plaque in the entrance hall of the Villa Lehman in Halle, the former seat of the State University for Theater and Music, commemorates the great pianist and pedagogue, who expressly saw his work as a contribution to the reparation of atrocities and the understanding between the Polish and German people understanding.

Appreciation

Piano pedagogy and Chopin playing

When Bronislaw von Pozniak wrote his writings, the z. Some bitter arguments, especially in the first quarter of the 20th century, between the advocates of the older piano methodology (focus: finger technique) and the various reformers, who also represented contradicting views among themselves (focus: weight technology with Rudolf Maria Breithaupt or their uncompromising rejection by Elisabeth Caland in favor of using the back muscles and lowering the shoulder blade). Pozniak dispenses with theoretical discussions and approaches the problems of piano playing from the practical side. He takes on a more mediating position that balances the extremes. For him, too, the starting point is the training of the fingers, but without the excessive tearing up of the fingers, which often leads to game damage, which is usually associated with cramps in the muscles. He emphasizes the importance of relaxation (he uses the term extensor muscles to characterize the feeling of comfort and freedom) and avoiding unnecessary movement. Great caution is also advised when doing tension and stretching exercises. With his new ideas, Pozniak becomes a pioneer of today's views on the problem area of ​​game damage and its prevention. The types of touch necessary for playing the piano are systematized and discussed using examples. In addition to active finger play, weight play is particularly useful when designing cantilenas. Pozniak rejects the outdated, imprecise pedal symbols, some of which are still in use today. He favors (see his edition of the Beethoven Sonatas) the exact pedal signs by Theodor Wiehmeyer , which, however, have not caught on and are not used in his own edition of Chopin's piano works.

In his Chopin book reference is made again and again to the elementary descriptions of the piano player's ABC . Just as simplicity and naturalness are methodological foundations in the technical field, the same basic principles also apply to the interpretation of Chopin's piano works. Pozniak sees himself as the keeper of the tradition of the Polish Chopin playing, as taught by Karol Mikuli , Chopin's pupil, in Lviv. He turns against the excessive emphasis on the technical side of Chopin's piano work, as it is particularly expressed in the exaggerated tempos of some Chopin players. This display of technical skills, as it is particularly observed in the interpretation of the etudes, is a falsification of the spirit of Chopin's music, which, according to Pozniak, is characterized by nobility, poetry, naturalness, lack of any sentimentality and deeply felt love and attachment to the Polish homeland the Polish people.

One of the peculiarities of Pozniak's new edition of Chopin's piano works in Edition Peters is the fingering, the deliberate simplicity of which makes it easier to play. It reflects the educational experience of Pozniak and he wants to make piano playing easier in this sector too, in contrast to other editors who lead the player through some subtleties into dead ends. In this way, there is no need to change fingers for repeated notes and decorations, as is practiced today by most pianists. B. Gottfried Galston is presented in his study book and Ferruccio Busoni in the foreword of his later edition of the 2-part inventions by JS Bach. Pozniak's economical pedaling, which often contradicts Chopin's own statements, has as a guideline the clarity of harmony and lines that should not be blurred. Pozniak can be accused of neglecting the fact that Chopin, with all the differences in the dampening effect of the pianos of the time, did intend to mix sounds and therefore resorted to pedal indications that seem bold to us today. Paul Badura-Skoda also draws attention to this in the notes on interpretation of his Chopin edition (Edition Peters). There are no solo recordings by the pianist Pozniak, whom Walter Niemann calls "one of our most wonderful Chopin players". The sound documents with his piano trio ( Pozniak-Trio ) show, despite the age-related acoustic and technical deficiencies, a sensitive musician who is sensitive to his teammates, whose lean and transparent tone, according to statements from his partners and critics, made him an ideal chamber music pianist .

literature

• Maria Zduniak: Bronisław Poźniak (1887–1953). In: Karlheinz Schlager (Hrsg.): Hubert Unverricht commemorative publication for his 65th birthday. Verlag Hans Schneider , Tutzing 1992. pp. 339-349.
• Maria Zduniak: O autobiografii Bronisława Poźniaka (1887–1953). In: Zeszyt Naukowy Akademii Muzycznej im. Karola Lipińskiego we Wrocławiu 65. Wrocław 1995. pp. 105–129.
• Hans Joachim Moser: Chopin. In: Music history in a hundred life pictures. Reclam-Verlag, Stuttgart 1952.
• Walter Niemann: master of the piano. The pianists of the present and the past. Schuster and Löffler, Berlin 1919.
• Gregor Piatigorsky: My cello and I and our encounters with Béla Bartók, Sir Thomas Beecham, Pablo Casals… Wunderlich, Tübingen 1968. (Here Piatigorsky describes his relationship with Pozniak and the Pozniak Trio, to which he temporarily belonged).
• Pozniak, Bronislaw, Knight of . In: Hans-Joachim Moser: Musiklexikon. Max Hesse publishing house, Berlin 1935, 1943, 1951.
• Wroclaw . In: MGG (= Music in the past and present : general encyclopedia of music). Sachteil, Vol. 2. Bärenreiter / Metzler. Kassel / Stuttgart. (Incorrect indication of Pozniak's year of birth!).
• Pozniak, Bronislaw of . In: Frank / Altmann : Concise Tonkünstler Lexicon. 15th ed. Vol. 2. Heinrichshofen, Wilhelmshaven 1978. (Incorrect indication of Pozniak's year of birth!).
• Pozniak, Bronislaw, Knight of . In: Wilibald Gurlitt (Hrsg.): Riemann-Musiklexikon. 12th edition. Person L – Z. Schott, Mainz 1961. (Incorrect pronunciation of the name!).
• The authors would like to thank Andreas von Pozniak (died 2013), the son of Bronislaw von Pozniak, for his information, and Cristina v. Pozniak-Bierschenk for the permission to look into the as yet unpublished memoirs of her grandfather.

Works, editions

• Bronislaw v. Pozniak: The ABC of the piano player. L. Oemigkes's publishing house, Berlin a. Wroclaw 1936.
• Bronislaw v. Pozniak: ABC of the piano player. 2nd extended edition Robert Forberg Musikverlag, Leipzig 1948.
• Bronisław Poźniak: ABC pianisty. Przekład: Bogdan Zieliński, Izabella Zielińska. Ars Nova, Poznań 1992. (Polish translation of the 1st German edition from 1936).
• Bronislaw v. Pozniak: Chopin. Practical Instructions for Studying Chopin's Works. Published in cooperation with the German Chopin Committee Berlin. Mitteldeutscher Verlag, Halle (Saale) 1949.
• Bronislaw v. Pozniak: Memoirs. Transferred from the manuscript and ed. by Cristina v. Pozniak beer tavern. Unpublished private print. Osnabrück 1985. Reprint 2006.
• Bronislaw v. Pozniak (ed.): Frédéric Chopin, piano works . New edition. Edition Peters, Leipzig 1949 ff. (For details see web links)
• Bronislaw v. Pozniak (Ed.): Ludwig van Beethoven, Sonatas for Piano Vol. 1 (Sonatas 1-14). Instructive new edition based on the original text . Mitteldeutscher Verlag, Halle (Saale). Transferred to Edition Peters Collection Litolff No. 5605. Leipzig 1953 (details see web links)
• Bronislaw v. Pozniak (ed.): Piano music by Russian and Soviet masters . Edition Peters, Leipzig 1951. (For details see web links).

Audio documents

Recordings for Carl Lindström AG. Berlin, late 1920 / early 1921

Trio Pozniak-Deman-Beyer: Bronislaw von Pozniak (piano), Rudolf Deman (violin), Hans Beyer (violoncello)

• Peter I. Tschaikowsky: Theme and variations from: Piano Trio in A minor, op.50. ODEON AA 57861
• Peter I. Tschaikowsky: Waltz from: Piano Trio in A minor, op.50. ODEON AA 57862
• Franz Schubert: 3rd movement / Allegro moderato from: Piano Trio in E flat major, op.100, D 929. ODEON AA 57863
• Anton Arensky: 3rd movement / elegy from: Piano Trio No. 1 in D minor, op.32.ODEON AA 57864

Recordings for Deutsche Grammophon AG. Berlin, 1925

Foreign label: POLYDOR

Pozniak Trio: Bronislaw von Pozniak (piano); Carl Freund (violin); Joseph Schuster (violoncello)

• Antonín Dvorák: Piano Trio No. 4 in E minor, op. 90 “Dumky Trio” (5 pages). GRAMMOPHONE 66194/66196
• Bedrich Smetana: 2nd movement / Allegro ma non agitato from: Piano Trio in G minor, op.15.GRAMMOPHON 66196
• Jean-Philippe Rameau: Cinquième Concert from the "Pièces de clavecin en concert". GRAMOPHONE 66197

Recordings for Deutsche Grammophon AG. Berlin, 1926

Pozniak Trio: Bronislaw von Pozniak (piano); Carl Freund (violin); Joseph Schuster (violoncello)

• Paul Kletzki: 3rd movement / Adagio from: Trio in D minor, op.16. GRAMMOPHONE 66415
  • The Pozniak Trio premiered this work on April 13, 1926 in Berlin
• Egon Kornauth: Fragment from: Piano Trio op.27. GRAMOPHONE 66415
• Paul Juon: Rêverie, Humoresque, Elegy from: Trio-Miniatures, op.18 (3 pages). GRAMMOPHONE 62548/62549
• Paul Juon: Danse phantastique from: Trio-Miniatures, op.24. GRAMOPHONE 62549

with Emmi Leisner , alt

• Ludwig van Beethoven: My eye is cloudy, cloudy; The fair maiden of Inverness; Oh, my father was cruel; Faithful Johnie; The evening from “Twenty-five Scottish songs”, op. 108. POLYDOR 73021/71023
  • Transfer to CD: "The Art of Emmi Leisner". Living Past / Preiser Records 89210 (P) 1994

Recordings for Electrola AG. Berlin, October 23, 1930

Pozniak Trio: Bronislaw von Pozniak (piano); Carl Freund (violin); Jascha Bernstein (violoncello)

• Antonín Dvorák: Piano Trio No. 4 in E minor, op. 90 “Dumky Trio” (6 pages). ELECTROLA EH 647/649; HMV C.2384 / 2386; HMV AN.715 / 717

BROADCAST. live, March 3, 1939

Pozniak Trio: Bronislaw von Pozniak (piano); Eugen Forster (violin); Sigrid Succo (violoncello)

• Antonín Dvorák: Piano Trio No. 4 in E minor, op. 90 "Dumky Trio"

Recorded in the Narodowe Archivum cyfrowe, Warsaw ( http://www.nac.gov.pl .) Under the shelf number 3/33/0/1/2957

Recordings for Deutsche Grammophon GmbH. Berlin, February 14, 1941

With Lore Fischer , Alt. Trio accompaniment: Prof. Br. V. Pozniak, Hans Bastian, Siegrid Succo . Musical arrangement: Gerhard Fahrt

• Johann Abraham Peter Schulz: The moon has risen. Unpublished
• Folk tune: The little flowers, they sleep. GRAMMOPHONE 47539
• Friedrich Silcher: Everything is so gorgeous outside. GRAMMOPHONE 47539
• Joseph Haydn: My sheep graze from “Scottish Folk Songs” (Hob. XXXIb). GRAMOPHONE 47541
• Joseph Haydn: Rose white, rose red from "Scottish Folk Songs" (Hob. XXXIb). GRAMOPHONE 47541

Recordings for Ludwig Hupfeld AG. Leipzig

• The solo recordings with works by Frédéric Chopin, which Pozniak claims to have made for the Hupfeld Phonola in his memoirs , could not be determined up to now (August 2019).

Web links

• Sheet music by Bronisław von Poźniak in the catalog of the German National Library
• Literature by and about Bronisław von Poźniak in the WorldCat bibliographic database

Remarks

1. ↑ s. the Polish language Wikipedia
2. ^ Maria Zduniak: Bronisław Poźniak (1887-1953). In: Karlheinz Schlager (Hrsg.): Hubert Unverricht commemorative publication for his 65th birthday. Verlag Hans Schneider, Tutzing 1992. p. 339.
3. ^ Linde Großmann: On the history of the piano department at the UdK Berlin . In: http://www.udk-berlin.de  : University history
4. ↑ Wolfgang rattling and Dietmar Schenk (ed.): Pianists in Berlin. Piano and piano training since the 19th century . HdK archive, vol. 3. Hochschule der Künste, Berlin 1999. p. 51.
5. ↑ Maria Zduniak (1992) p. 340.
6. ^ Schmitz, Franz Arnold . In: MGG (2005). Person part. Vol. 14 p. 1479 b.
7. ↑ s. the chapter My Students in Memoirs .
8. ↑ Horst Weber, Stefan Dress (ed.): Sources on the history of emigrated musicians (1933–1950) . Vol. 2: New York. KG Saur, Munich 2005.
9. ↑ Secretariat of the Fifth International Chopin Piano Competition Fryderik (ed.): The international Chopin piano competitions in Poland . Warsaw 1954. p. 33.
10. ↑ http://pl.chopin.nifc.pl/institute
11. ↑ List of other students in: Bronislaw v. Pozniak: Chopin . Mitteldeutscher Verlag, Halle (Saale) 1949. P. 160. (Afterword). (This page is no longer included in later reprints), also in the chapter My Students of Memoirs .
12. ↑ Maria Zduniak (1992) p. 342
13. ↑ s. Chapter My Trio in Memoirs . See also the Altenberg Trio archive at http://www.altenbergtrio.at with data that is not always reliable.
14. ↑ Hans Bastiaan (* 1911 in Nuremberg; † October 11, 2012) has recently become known for his involvement as a contemporary witness in the film Das Reichsorchester. The Berlin Philharmonic and National Socialism . Documentary by Enrique Sánchez Lansch. Broadcast on November 29, 2007, 11 p.m. on ARD.
15. ↑ Chapter The Collapse .
16. ↑ This university (located in Villa Lehmann, Burgstrasse 46) existed from 1947 to 1955.
17. ↑ Klaus Suckel: Musical roots. State University for Theater and Music Halle. In: scientia halensis. 7th year 1999/4. Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg 1999. p. 26.
18. ↑ See http://www.musikpaed.uni-halle.de
19. ^ Opposite photo by Klaus Suckel in: Klaus Suckel (1999). (The photo has since been removed for copyright reasons).
20. ^ In the preface to the 2nd edition of the ABC des Klavierspielers , Forberg, Leipzig 1948, p. 3.
21. ↑ Polish musicologist (1934–2011) who primarily researched the musical life of Silesia, especially Wroclaw, s. Polish-language Wikipedia. The presentation of Pozniak's time in Wroclaw is largely based on your research and information.