Description

IGNACE HILSBERG (WARSAW, 8 JULY, 1894 – SAN DIEGO, 6, JULY, 1973)

 

 

 

 

Ignace Hilsberg was born in Warsaw, Poland. At the age of nine, he appeared as a soloist with the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra; the following year he won a scholarship to the Petrograd Conservatory, and upon graduating was summoned to perform before the Imperial family.

During a tour of the Orient, he was invited to play before the President at the Palace in Peking and was awarded the medal of Chevalier of the Chinese Republic. Later, he held a professorial chair for two years at the Royal Conservatory in Athens, Greece.

After coming to the United States, Mr. Hilsberg was selected from among hundreds of applicants to appear as a soloist with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra. He also appeared as a soloist with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Buffalo Symphony Orchestra. From 1926 to 1936, he served on the faculty of the Juilliard Foundation in New York.

In December 1936, Mr. Hilsberg was a soloist with the Los Angeles Philharmonic under the direction of Dr. Otto Klemperer. In 1943, he appeared with William Steinberg and the Buffalo Symphony Orchestra, and in 1946 with Alfred Wallenstein and the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra.

 

 

 

ALEKSANDER WITOLD SIENKIEWICZ (KAZIMIERZ DOLNY, JUNE 16, 1903 – RIO DE JANEIRO JANUARY 23, 1982)

 

 

 

 

He was related to the esteemed writer Henryk Sienkiewicz, who was either an uncle or a great-uncle. He studied with Józef Turczyński, Juliusz Wertheim, and Egon Petri—the latter most likely in Berlin—where he himself later became a teacher at the Klindworth-Scharwenka Conservatory. He earned an honourable mention at the 1932 International Chopin Piano Competition and also formed a trio with his brothers Henryk (violin) and Edward (cello), known as the Orkiestra Braci Dorian (the Dorian Brothers Orchestra). Why he occasionally used the name Dorian instead of Sienkiewicz in his native country remains unclear; however, all record labels from the 1920s and concert programmes from the 1940s onward use his birth name rather than Dorian.

It appears that Sienkiewicz also worked with Paderewski in Switzerland—his famous relative had been friends with Paderewski prior to his death in 1916—and under the guidance of his legendary compatriot Alexander transformed his technique and developed a close personal relationship with him. He eventually married one of Paderewski’s nieces and left Europe during the war, spending approximately five years in Buenos Aires as a conductor before moving in 1947 to Rio de Janeiro. He had already performed and conducted there as early as 1942, including a performance of Tchaikovsky’s First Piano Concerto with Maryla Jonas as soloist. He spent the remaining 35 years of his life living in Rio de Janeiro.

 

 

TRACKLIST

 

 

IGNACE HILSBERG

Aufschwung Op. 12 No. 2 (Schumann) 4931-B Brunswick, 1930

Cracovienne Fantastique (Paderewski) 4931-A Brunswick, 1930

Etude in C sharp minor, Op. 2, No. 1 (Scriabin) 4306-B Brunswick, 1928

Prelude in D major, Op. 10, No. 5 (Rush Hour in Hong Kong) (Chasins) 4306-A Brunswick, 1928

 

ALEKSANDER SIENKIEWICZ

1926: Berlin, Germany (Studio Recordings | Mono)

– Deutsche Grammophon –

• Scriabin: Piano Sonata No.10, Op.70

➢ Side 1/3 | (1926-??-??) | 196 bg-? | M

Side 2/3 | (1926-??-??) | 197 bg-? | M

Side 3/3 | (1926-??-??) | 198 bg-? | M

– Polydor 2B & 3A/B ->

• Scriabin: Piano Sonata No.9, Op.68 (Black Mass)

➢ Side 1/3 | (1926-??-??) | 209 bg-? | M

Side 2/3 | (1926-??-??) | 210 bg-? | M

Side 3/3 | (1926-??-??) | 211 bg-? | M

– Polydor 1A/B & 2A ->

 

1927: Berlin, Germany (Studio Recordings | Mono)

– Deutsche Grammophon –

• Liszt: Concert Paraphrase on the Waltz from Gounod’s opera Faust, S.407

➢ Side 1/2 | (1927-??-??) | 526 bm-? | M

Side 2/2 | (1927-??-??) | 527½ bm-? | M

– Polydor 19752 ->