Karasowski, Maurycy (EN)

Karasowski Maurycy, *22 September 1823 Warsaw, †20 April 1892 Dresden, Polish music writer, cellist and composer. He studied music in Warsaw (cello with W. Kratzer, harmony with A. Freyer). He taught music in manors in Podolia in 1842–51, later, he was a cellist in the orchestra of the Grand Theatre in Warsaw from 1851 and also played at private concerts. He was active as a music critic from 1854, publishing reviews in “Dziennik Warszawski” (1854) and in “Kronika Wiadomości Krajowych i Zagranicznych” (1856–57), collaborated with the monthly “Biblioteka Warszawska” (1855–61), running a regular column Przegląd muzykalny, and with “Tygodnik Ilustrowany” (1859–61, Kronika sztuki — muzyka); he also wrote for “Ruch Muzyczny” (1857–61) and other Warsaw periodicals (“Gazeta Codzienna,” “Księga,” “Wędrowiec,” “Przyjaciel Dzieci”). His travels abroad helped him deepen his musical knowledge; in 1858, he published correspondence from Prague in “Ruch Muzyczny,” in 1858 and 1860 – from Paris and Dieppe. His book Rys historyczny opery polskiej was published in 1859. Karasowski settled in Dresden in 1864; he was a cellist in the royal orchestra, maintained active contacts with Polish artists, and was friends with J.I. Kraszewski. He sent correspondence from Dresden (“Kłosy” 1866–72, “Echo Muzyczne” 1880–85, “Kraj” 1866); there in 1877, he published his life’s work – the monograph Fryderyk Chopin. He composed miniatures for cello and piano as well as solo songs.

Together with J. Sikorski and J. Kleczyński, Karasowski belonged to a group of leading music writers in the 19^th century, who created the foundations for the development of music criticism in Poland. An autodidact with a wide knowledge of musical and non-musical literature, professionally associated with the musical practice, and gifted with a literary flair, he wrote in widely read periodicals. Karasowski’s accounts of current musical life and his reviews (concerts, books, sheet music) show his concern for raising the level of musical culture in the country. However, the mainstream of Karasowski’s writing activity was broader publications (profiles of composers, sketches of musical life in the past). Studies published in periodicals gave rise to the books Rys historyczny opery polskiej and Fryderyk Chopin, which were well-received by his contemporaries; in particular, the monograph on Chopin met with a lively response in the country (reviews by O. Kolberg, J.I. Kraszewski, H. Sienkiewicz) and was translated into various languages. In both of these works, Karasowski presented himself as a classic representative of the personalist concept prevailing in 19^th-century historiography.

Rys historyczny opery polskiej includes not only the history of dramatic music in Poland but is also the first attempt in music literature to encompass the history of Italian, German and French opera. Karasowski reduced the historical narrative to a description of facts, musical events and the biographies of the composers, limiting his remarks about music to its most tangible features. He valued the work of composers using the criteria of beauty, knowledge and emotion; he considered Mozart the only operatic genius; he aptly distinguished the leading figures in the history of opera (Monteverdi, Gluck), and he highly valued Rossini and Weber; in love with classical music, he was critical of the innovations in Wagner’s operas and his theory of the “music of the future.” Karasowski aimed his book at a wide audience, so he included anecdotes, but also source materials (e.g. the preface to Gluck’s Alcesta), and put forward postulates for contemporary composers and singers. Numerous factual, journalistic and anecdotal errors, insertions, hasty opinions, and subjective statements devalue this work from a scientific perspective; the list of operas performed in Warsaw in the years 1778–1820, prepared by L.A. Dmuszewski and supplemented by Karasowski up to 1859, has retained its documentary value.

Karasowski’s work on Chopin (1877) is one of the earliest books on this composer (Liszt 1852, Szulc 1873), and can be considered the first monograph on Chopin’s life and work. Karasowski collected materials for many years and published the first version of the book under the title Młodość Chopina (‘Chopin’s Youth’). In the biographical part, he based it on the accounts of the composer’s family and quoted many of his letters, unfortunately sometimes violating the original text; the general description of his work, focusing on the characteristics of musical expression, testifies to the admiration that Karasowski had for Chopin’s music and is a testimony to his aesthetic views, typical of the Romantic period. Despite the shortcomings caused by the lack of scientific skills, Karasowski’s work fulfilled its pioneering function in Chopin literature, and its author, thanks to the publication of the composer’s letters, took a permanent position in Chopinology. Karasowski’s writings influenced the shaping of historical awareness, inspired research into the past, indicated the importance of music history for the development of society’s culture, and in our times, it is valuable as a testimony to Polish musical thought in the 19^th century.

Literature: J. Kleczyński Maurycy Karasowski, “Echo Muzyczne, Teatralne i Artystyczne” 1892 no. 448; S. Jarociński Antologia polskiej krytyki muzycznej XIX i XX wieku, Kraków 1955; Korespondencja Fryderyka Chopina, 2 volumes, ed. B.E. Sydow, Warsaw 1955; J.I. Kraszewski i polskie życie muzyczne XIX wieku, ed. S. Świerzewski, Kraków 1963 (includes 15 letters by Karasowski and a review by Kraszewski of the work Fryderyk Chopin published in “Bluszcz” 1877); K. Morawska Badania nad muzyką dawną w Polsce w XIX w., «Szkice o kulturze muzycznej XIX wieku», ed. Z. Chechlińska, vol. 3, Warsaw 1976; L. Polony Polski kształt sporu o istotę muzyki, Kraków 1991.