Halina Krzyzanowska (1860-1937)
Trois Valses
Berceuse, op. 41
Chasse Fantastique, op. 45
Tarentelle, op. 48
Pièce lyrique, op. 50
Chevauchée Nocturne, op. 53
Intermezzo, op. 56
Rêverie
Romance en la majeur
Valse-Ballet

Elzbieta Tyszecka, piano

La compositrice d’origine polonaise Halina Krzyzanowska est née en France, à Courbevoie, et a fait toute sa carrière dans notre pays. Elle n’a cependant jamais ni renié ni oublié ses origines. Témoins ces courtes pièces pour piano, alternant des Menuets légers et plein de traits d’esprit très français et des oeuvres typiquement slaves : Mazour, Cracovienne, Hungaria (en souvenir des rhapsodies de Franz Liszt). Les pianistes amateurs — dans le sens le plus noble du terme — trouveront ici de quoi varier leur répertoire, et les mélomanes un petit moment de légèreté typique des salons de la fin du XIXe siècle. (Walter Appel)

Halina Krzyzanowska was born in Courbevoie and died in Rennes. Her life and work were associated with France, but she always remembered her Polish roots and tried to reflect this in her compositions. She was an acclaimed pianist and composer, and was also active as a teacher. She was educated between 1878 and 1883 at the Paris Conservatoire. In the field of piano, her pedagogues were F. Le Couppey and A. F. Marmontel. She studied composition under E. Guiraud. She began her concert activity in 1885, after receiving the first prize at the Conservatoire piano competition in 1883. Her concertizing primarily took place in France, but she also visited Poland. In 1894, she gave concerts in Warsaw, Lviv and Cracow, and again in Warsaw in 1899. In 1886, Halina Krzyzanowska was awarded the distinction of L’Officier d’Académie de France. In 1900, she became a professor of the higher piano course at the Rennes Conservatoire. Her compositional output is dominated by works for piano alongside pieces for voice and piano. Most of them were composed before 1895, a few at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. Apart from her piano works, Halina Krzyzanowska’s compositional output includes chamber compositions, a Symphony, the oratorio Sainte Radegonde and an opera Magdusia. The composer’s works were published in France.