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Karol Lipiński - Rondo alla Polacca in E major, Op. 7 (arr. A. Wrobel) Konstanty Andrzej Kulka (violin), Andrzej Wrobel (cello), Andrzej Gebski (violin), Anna Orlik (violin), Grzegorz Chmielewski (viola) Recorded: 11-13 July 2012 Karol Józef Lipiński (30 October 1790 – 16 December 1861) was a Polish music composer and virtuoso violinist active during the partitions of Poland. He may be regarded as the father of the Polish violin school, which is different from the Italian or French-Belgian ones. The Karol Lipiński University of Music in Wrocław, Poland is named after him. Among his works are the four violin concertos, as well as studies, polonaises, rondos, variations, capriccios. He wrote three symphonies. Lipiński created his own performance style. A deep musical culture, technical perfection, immaculately pure intonation, perfect interpretation, and above all a magnificent, mellow tone combined to form the Polish artist’s individual playing style. “For a romantic virtuoso, Lipiński had a rather unusual biography, lacking in scandals or legends, and without any supernatural intervention. The only more attractive point, as ‘The Warsaw Gazette’ reported, was that he had supposedly taken lessons from Paganini himself! Could there be any greater attraction and recommendation for the Warsaw audience? And yet, Lipiński decided to disclaim this ‘attractive addition’ to his life story. Karol Lipiński’s contribution to European violin music can hardly be overestimated. This was most emphatically expressed by Vladimir Grigorev, a Russian violinist and musicologist, professor of Moscow Conservatory: “His [Lipiński’s] work was a culminating point in European violin history. [...] Lipiński paved the way for a worldwide recognition of the Polish national culture. He was one of the first great composers before Chopin whose work became known outside Poland and won acclaim in Europe [...].”(Andrzej Wróbel, excerpts from booklet notes)
