Every now and then, something catches my eye and I take a chance on it. Not knowing what it is can lead to either a ho hum or, in the rare and perfect instance, an oh boy! Such is the case with this special Columbia Entre lp that I bought yesterday. When I got home and looked up Maryla Jonas, I was positively stunned that I had never heard of this unique and tragic artist. Posthaste, I laid the lp on the turntable and within 90 minutes, listened to these Chopin mazurkas in an awestruck state. Never had I heard such melancholy, such world weariness, from these brilliant miniatures. Indeed, Chopin had painted, below the surface, a sadness of seeing his Polish nation subjected to rule and desecration by others, something that Jonas was pained about as she saw her beloved country, and its heroic people, tormented by Nazis and Communists.
Maryla Jonas lived a tragic life which was shattered by World War II and its aftermath. Death followed her and it affected both her physical and mental state during her short life (she died at age 48.) If not for the dogged efforts of her countryman Artur Rubinstein to get her back to the keyboard, her story, and great talent, would never have been known. Rubinstein was a genius and knew genius - you can read more about this story here .
Please listen to these recordings with an open mind. This is not the Chopin that you are used to hearing and it is a polar opposite from the elegant, aristocratic approach of Rubinstein. It is music making of a kind that comes along once in a blue moon...if you are lucky.
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