Although Witold Malcuzynski was a popular pianist in his day, his reputation has been in eclipse since his death in 1977. He made numerous recordings for EMI, mainly of Romantic repertoire with special focus on his compatriot (you guessed it) Chopin. Here are some of his earliest discs, originally issued on 78s in the late 1940s and now reissued for the first time. As a Chopinist, Malcuzynski’s old-fashioned style is laden with outsized rubatos, snatched-at runs, and sundry mannerisms à la Paderewski (Malcuzynski’s one-time teacher). Even Paderewski’s tired fingers imparted more nobility and breadth to the “Heroic” A-flat Polonaise than Malcuzynski’s blunt-edged recreation (he did better in his out-of-print stereo remake). The glittering sequences in Liszt’s A major Concerto are notey and prosaic compared to earlier shellac versions from Egon Petri and Arthur de Greef, yet the two Chopin C-sharp minor selections (the Op. 64 No. 2 Waltz and Op. 25 No. 7 Etude) stand out for their clear, limpid fingerwork.
If Malcuzynski lacks poetic subtlety in the Chopin F minor Concerto, he compensates with masculinity and conviction. Most conductors do little but beat time in the Chopin concertos, but not Paul Kletzki, whose contribution alone demands more than mere lip service. Orchestrally speaking, this is the best of Malcuzynski’s three Chopin F minors, notwithstanding the once-traditional cuts in the first-movement tuttis (restored by Walter Susskind for Malcuzynski’s stereo traversal). The disc closes with Szymanowski’s neo-Brahmsian B-flat minor Theme and Variations, an early work that faintly hints at the startlingly original composer to come. Here Malcuzynski radiates poise and aristocracy, with a colorful, singing tone to match. I assumed Roger Beardsley had finally been cured of fake reverberation syndrome, but not with these transfers.
