 Il y a encore une dizaine d'années, Philipp Scharwenka (1847-1917) était surtout connu comme le frère du célèbre pianiste-compositeur Franz Xaver Scharwenka (1850-1924). Le label polonais Actes Préalable s'inscrit dans cette démarche de redécouverte avec un enregistrement dédié à la musique pour violon et piano de l'aîné des Scharwenka, et notamment avec une première mondiale : l'Arie op. 51. Typique de la tradition romantique tardive allemande, cette pièce aux allures d'élégie a connu un certain succès en son temps. Quant à la Suite op. 99, elle se caractérise par l'association de quatre pièces à l'expressivité et au tempo très contrastés, mais aussi par une volonté de faire écho aux suites anciennes. Bien qu'il s'agisse de pièces de Salon, elles cherchent à mettre en valeur la virtuosité des interprètes. Enfin, la Sonate op.110, en deux mouvements, est une œuvre tout aussi contrastée. Le premier mouvement est de caractère dramatique, là où le second se distingue par son atmosphère bucolique. L'interprétation irréprochable de Oriana Masternak et Slawomir Cierpik illustre à merveille les différentes facettes de la musique de ce compositeur polonais à (re)découvrir absolument. (Charles Romano) Amongst music researchers there is an ongoing debate about Philipp’s national identity. From Polish sources the Scharwenkas were considered Germans with Polish roots, however British sources write about them as being both Polish and German. The matter of his national identity, as interesting as it may be, will probably never be resolved. It seems to be less important in terms of the reception of his music, since his legacy consists of 123 works, which are very much a part of the late-romantic European music culture. A culture above national divisions. As a composer Philipp became more noticed from 1874. The volume of works he had written gives an idea about his creative capabilities, and the diversity of work in term of genre and form, all of which reflect his creative versatility. Amongst his works we will find an opera, numerous songs, symphonies, symphonic poems, violin concertos, cantatas, chorales and lyrical piano pieces. An important part of Philipp’s work is occupied by chamber works. The violin is the main instrument in these works, and the composer was to write two sonatas for it. In 1880 Scharwenka married Marianna Stresow, an extremely talented violinist who had developed her skills under the leadership of Pablo de Sarasate. The late opus numbers of the chamber works suggest the composer focused on this musical genre only in the second half of the 1890’s – perhaps the impulse that drove him was his wife, who probably performed her husband’s works.
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