3c) Paweł Kochański's performance style

Many of the sources discussed above show that Szymanowski drew a lot of inspiration for his violinistic from the way his friend Kochański played. But what does this mean? Firstly, we need to understand that Kochański played a big role in all of the pieces which Szymanowski wrote for violin. To demonstrate how important his role was, I quote from one of the letters Szymanowski wrote to Zofia Kochańska (Kochański’s wife): 

 Pawełek and I have created in Myths and Concerto a new style, a new expression of violin playing, in this respect completely epoch-making. All works of other composers approaching to this style - even if they were the most brilliant ones - were created later, that is either under the direct influence of Myths and Concerto or with Pawełek's direct contribution.[...] You know as I do objectively, as a musician, not a friend, admire Pawełek, because he did for the violin something like what Chopin did for the piano, he has shown incalculable new possibilities.1

 He was not only inspired by the way Kochánski played, or how much of a brilliant violinist he was. Kochański aided the composer in his writing, not only with his transcriptions but also with other violin pieces. He gave Szymanowski input and was asked to write the cadenzas for the 1st and 2nd violin concertos. He also marked bowings, fingering and indications in the violin scores. As Kochański himself writes:

We worked out these violin things together, for Szymanowski is not a violinist. When we were in the country, he said he would like to develop some of his ideas for my instrument. He would develop his themes, his musical ideas, at the piano, and, talking and studying them together, I would fix the mechanical form of his lovely colour-designs, so they would sound, so that the violin sonorities would obtain their fullest value.2

However, to know what kind of sound Szymanowski imagined while writing the pieces I need to analyse the characteristics of Kochański’s playing. From his recorded output, we can discern some notable features. 

The first thought that comes to mind while listening to works performed by Kochański is his continuous vibrato and very sweet, singing tone. The vibrato is also varied, depending on the section of each piece, with changes in speed or width frequently matching changes in expression. This was especially noticeable while listening to his recording of the second movement of Brahms’s Violin Sonata no.3. If we look at the first movement of the same sonata, we can notice his mastery in the use of dynamics. From very soft and delicate piano to full present sound. Obviously, all the dynamics have a palette of different shades which are used thoughtfully. Another recording that captures these extraordinary abilities is of the Vocalise by Rachmaninoff (example 2). In this work full of long lines, Kochanski’s playing fits well. Every note is treated with care and delicacy. Kochański truly shows how well things can sound on his instrument. His sweet sound results from his fingering choices, articulations and the timbre he creates through vibrato and bow technique.

All of these characteristics can be found in his recording of La Gitana by Fritz Kreisler. (example 3) One can hear how great his technical capabilities were. The way he articulates each note, despite the surface noise on the recording creates incredible clarity of sound. The dexterity of the left hand during fast runs and double stops or chords is significant. As Kochański’s first violin teacher - Emil Młynarski (1870-1935) remarked after he heard him play for the first time at the age of 7 :

He had exceptionally strong fingers, already very well trained. He wielded the bow with a freedom that was simply astonishing. What is the most interesting, the interpretation of the little boy was at a high level. Already then Kochański showed taste and moderation, every detail of phrasing had its sense, its logic.3