BLISS POINT
Selected chamber music
Piotr Szewczyk
Bold City Contemporary Ensemble
Trio Solis
OVERVIEW
When approaching his latest chamber album BLISS POINT, Polish-born violinist and composer Piotr Szewczyk turned to a unique lens of inspiration – food science. His interpretation of a “bliss point” in the culinary sense embodies the technique’s saturation of a flavor just before the point of diminished potency. Of course, he trades in the contents of his spice cabinet in favor of diverse instrumental pairings, and in doing so, the composer explores the “saturation limits in the full spectrum of emotions, textures, and characters.” In doing so, Szewczyk is confident that the resulting collection of chamber works “covers the entire expressive range of my vocabulary and artistic sensitivity.”
Naturally, Szewczyk’s violin stylings are included in this spectrum, as he appears on nearly all the album’s compositions. He keeps true to his stated inspirations on BLISS POINT and exemplifies these goals on the title track. Accompanied by clarinet, cello, and piano, the violinist leads the quartet through a set of intertwined sections that starkly differ in their pacing. An ostinato bookend aids in structuring the piece, opening with a gentle pulsation and closing with tranquility after a midsection of contrasting instrumental textures.
Contrasting moods also appear on the album’s first two mixed ensemble pieces. The four short, ever-shifting movements of Twisted Dances are brought alive by oboe, violin, cello, and piano, and the scattered themes of Images from a Journey range from explorations of darkness to a similarly dance-inspired movement based on gypsy performers.
These ensembles are only a sample of Szewczyk’s use of contrast on the album, with a strong example arriving on Piano Trio No. 1’s bricolage of disparate movements. The composer cycles through passages of intense, rhythmic virtuosity; then meditative jazz piano obscured by melancholic tendencies; and lastly, an explosive finale with unbridled energy as its ignition.
His vibrant writing for strings echoes this trend as well, including the viscous, atonal sonorities of a string quartet in the octatonic scale on Half-Diminished Scherzo and the fury of a lively string trio on the appropriately titled Furioso.
These types of musical personification all exhibit the intense imagery of Szewczyk’s compositions. Even without knowing the title of Very Angry Birds, the way the violinist’s extended techniques glide over propulsive piano chords will prompt listeners to point their imaginations skyward. This tendency also holds true for the composer’s dialogue between instruments, such as the furious battle of violin and viola on Conundrum and the marital themes of Nimbus, which tests the polarity of wedding vows with passages full of both joy and bickering.
HIGHLIGHTS
Hailed by Gramophone as a “violinist of exceptional finesse and flair” and a composer of “magical” works, Piotr Szewczyk is currently a member of the Jacksonville Symphony first violin section and violinist/composer-in-residence of the Bold City Contemporary Ensemble, both based in Florida
Szewczyk takes on both composer and performer roles on his latest album BLISS POINT, a collection of chamber works with diverse instrumentation and a penchant for exploring musical contrast
The album’s title comes from a culinary term for the satisfying saturation of a flavor, where adding any more would diminish its potency
He and his compositions have received numerous accolades, including an American Prize for his “organic, exhilarating, and fresh” music, which “makes one want to immediately hear it again”
CREDITS
Tracks 5, 10 - 15
recorded Aug 26, 2016 at Hendricks Baptist Church in Jacksonville FL
Tracks 6 - 8
recorded May 10, 2016 at St. Paul’s by-the-Sea Episcopal Church in Jacksonville Beach FL
Tracks 1 - 4, 9, 16 - 19
recorded September 2 & 3, 2016 at St. Paul’s by-the-Sea Episcopal Church in Jacksonville Beach FL
Recording Session Producer Piotr Szewczyk
Recording Session Engineer Jeff Alford
Editing and Mixing Jeff Alford with Piotr Szewczyk
Executive Producer Bob Lord
Executive A&R Sam Renshaw
A&R Chris Robinson
Audio Director Jeff LeRoy
Engineering Manager Lucas Paquette
Art & Production Director Brett Picknell
Graphic Design Emily Roulo
Marketing Scott Murphy
Release Date May 12, 2017
Catalog #: NV6093
TRACK LISTING
TWISTED DANCES for Oboe, Violin, Cello, and Piano
Bold City Contemporary Ensemble (BCCE) | Scott Erickson oboe
Piotr Szewczyk violin Brian Magnus cello Galen Dean Peiskee, Jr. piano
1 I. Polytonal Polka
2 II. 12 “tone-al” Waltz
3 III. Jig with a Twist
4 IV. Effin’ Tarantella
5 CONUNDRUM for Violin and Viola
BCCE | Piotr Szewczyk violin Jorge Pena viola
PIANO TRIO NO.1
Trio Solis | Corinne Stillwell violin Greg Sauer cello Read Gainsford piano
6 I. Aggressive
7 II. Dark
8 III. Energetic
9 HALF-DIMINISHED SCHERZO for String Quartet
BCCE | Piotr Szewczyk violin I Philip Pan violin II Jorge Pena viola
Brian Magnus cello
IMAGES FROM A JOURNEY for Flute, Clarinet, Cello, and Piano
BCCE | Piotr Szewczyk conductor
Sarah-Jane Young flute/alto flute Bojana Kragulj clarinet/bass clarinet
Betsy Federman cello Ileana Fernandez piano
10 I. Through a Prism
11 II. Moonlight Passacaglia
12 III. Night’s Embrace
13 IV. Gypsy Ballroom
14 FURIOSO for String Trio
BCCE | Piotr Szewczyk violin Jorge Pena viola Betsy Federman cello
15 VERY ANGRY BIRDS for Violin and Piano
BCCE | Piotr Szewczyk violin Ileana Fernandez piano
16 NIMBUS for Two Violins
BCCE | Piotr Szewczyk violin I Philip Pan violin II
BLISS POINT for Violin, Clarinet, Cello, and Piano
BCCE | Nathan Aspinall conductor
Piotr Szewczyk violin Bojana Kragulj clarinet Brian Magnus cello
Galen Dean Peiskee, Jr. piano
17 Part I
18 Part II
19 Part III
ALSO ON NAVONA
Piotr Szewczyk
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