So....it was at some point in the late eighties or the early nineties that I became aware of the "Polish phenomenon" that was Wanda Wilkomirska.
The exact date I do not remember (which is probably incredibly humorous to those who know me and call me "the elephant that never forgets"), but what I DO remember is that I was fortunate to have Samuel Applebaum's The Way They Play series in front of me, and I read...and read...and read. Two violinists stood out during that time: Russian violinist Tatiana Grindenko and Polish violinist Wanda Wilkomirska.
For those not familiar: The Way They Play is a fourteen (correct me if I'm wrong, folks) volume series that contains interviews with the top classical string players of their times. It was in one of these books that I read a wonderful interview with Ms. Wilkomirska, and the thing that I remember most of all (besides the fantastic late 1960s- early 1970's photos) is something that she said about the bow. If memory serves me (and this means that it's time to invest in this series of books), she said that "the arm follows the bow".
In addition to being an important exponent of the violin, a tremendous advocate and performer of works by Karol Szymanowski (for the record: while I was blown away by Ida Haendel's 1999 recording of the Mythes, this one makes me rethink everything) and the violinist who premiered the Pendericki Capriccio for Violin and Orchestra, Ms. Wilkomirska was also a quietly strong political figure.
The very recent New York Times obituary briefly chronicles Ms. Wilkomirska's activism during the Solidarity movement of the 1970s and 80s: "In 1976 she was among scores of artists and intellectuals who opposed restrictive constitutionl amendments, which was particularly noteworthy because she was married at the time to Mieczyslaw Rakowski, a member of the Communist Party's Central Committee and editor of its weekly newspaper (and later, prime minister). They divorced in 1977, but she was widely credited with introducing Mr. Rakowsky to artistic circles and helping to soften his views."
"In 1981 (and I actually remember this) the government, in a final effort to stifle Solidarity, declared martial law, and Ms. Wilkomirksa, on tour, chose to stay in the West, living and teaching in West Germany and Australia. In 1990, after change came to Poland, she returned to play a violin concerto written by Andrzej Paufnik, who had himself emigrated from Poland early in the Communist era."
What do you say to THAT, eh? Especially in this day and age? Many of us remember when violinist Viktoria Mullova defected from the Soviet Union in 1983, eighteen months after sharing the First Prize in the Tchaikovsky Competition. How many stories are there that we don't know? While we do remember the phenomenon of Ms. Mullova, we have to acknowledge the quiet strength of Ms. Wilkomirska.
...and of course, to sit now remembering the newscasts, first about the Solidarity movement and then about Ms. Mullova....
As I sit writing, with one of Ms. Wilkomirska's performances of the Bach Chaconne playing, I find a tear in my eye: not only was she a tremendously important musical figure, but she exemplified the sense of civic and national duty that we as artists should all espouse, especially in these fractious times.
Ms. Wilkomirska, thank you. Rest now, deservedly: and for those who have not heard her, here we are:
Szymanowski: Violin Concerto No. 1
Sydney Symphony Orchestra
Niklaus Wyss, conductor
Szymanowski: Mythes
Antonio Barbosa, Piano
For the Love of Music
David Dubal, host
WNCN-FM, New York
Originally broadcast on June 27, 1980
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