Kleczyński, Jan (EN)

Kleczyński Jan, *8 June 1837 Janiewicze in Volhynia, †15 September 1895 Warsaw, Polish critic, music writer, pianist, teacher, composer and chess player. During his studies in a real secondary school in Warsaw, after 1850, he learned piano with I. Krzyżanowski, a graduate of the Paris Conservatory and Chopin’s student; in 1859–66, he studied at the Paris Conservatory with F. Bazin and W.E. Caraf (theory and composition) and with A.F. Marmontel (piano). He also learned to play chess by attending Café de la Régance, the seat of the chess community and the venue of competitions. Kleczyński, as a pianist-soloist and chamber musician, performed in 1858–89 in Warsaw, and also in Żytomierz, Kalisz, Kraków, Lviv, Lublin, Szczawnica, Iwonicz, Ciechocinek, Kyiv, and Odesa. In 1862 and 1864, he gave concerts in Paris (in the Pleyel and Erard halls), gaining recognition. Kleczyński’s repertoire included works by Bach, Beethoven, Chopin, Hummel, Liszt, Mendelssohn, Saint-Saëns, Schumann, Thalberg, Weber and his own compositions. From 1881, he gave private piano lessons. From 1887 to 1890, he taught an intermediate piano course at the Warsaw Music Institute. His students included, among others, F. Brzeziński, W. Landowska, H. Łopuska-Wyleżyńska, and L. Płosajkiewicz. Kleczyński was one of the founders of WTM (Warszawskie Towarzystwo Muzyczne [Warsaw Music Society]), in 1875–77, he served as WTM secretary, and from 1877 to 1878 music director. He organised WTM music evenings where his compositions were performed; they were also presented in Prague (1880, 1887), Kraków (1884, 1885), Lviv (1885), Poznań (1904) and other cities. In 1877, he started working as a music critic and collaborated with Warsaw magazines: “Bluszcz,” “Tygodnik Powszechny,” “Tygodnik Ilustrowany,” “Kurier Warszawski,” and “Kurier Codzienny;” he also addressed theoretical and practical problems of chess in “Tygodnik Ilustrowany” and “Kurier Warszawski,” and from the late 1860s he was successful in chess tournaments and championships. In 1880–95, he was the editor-in-chief of “Echo Muzyczne” (from 1884 with A. Rajchman), head of the music department and chief reviewer; after three years of work, he expanded the profile of the magazine, which was reflected in the change of the title from 1 October 1883 to “Echo Muzyczne i Teatralne” (EMT), and from 1885 – “Echo Muzyczne, Teatralne i Artystyczne” (EMTA) and its transformation from a biweekly to a weekly. In 1879, he gave three lectures O wykonywaniu dzieł Chopina at Resursa Obywatelska Palace in Warsaw, and in 1883, another three lectures at the same place: Chopin w celniejszych swoich utworach. In 1882, he was in Zakopane for the first time, and in 1884, he went on a tour of Podhale together with T. Chałubiński and I.J. Paderewski, from then on he began collecting and describing Podhale melodies.

From a historical perspective, in Kleczyński’s multidirectional activity, his writing legacy comes to the fore; compositional works intended for amateurs are of secondary importance. Kleczyński was particularly interested in Chopin’s work and the interpretation of his compositions. From 1870, he published biographical articles describing Chopin’s style. In his lectures (1879, 1883) at Resursa Obywatelska Palace, he brought up the problems of performing Chopin’s compositions. He was the first in world literature to discuss Chopin’s piano method (“Bluszcz” 1869), its technical foundations regarding fingering, and the systematics of exercises following “keyboard morphology.” Kleczyński rightly pointed out the original and innovative elements of this method: finger topology, technical methods of playing cantabile, and special work on sound and striking. In the treatises O wykonywaniu dzieł Chopina and Chopin w celniejszych swoich utworach, Kleczyński discussed ways of performing Chopin’s compositions; to do so, he used comments provided by Chopin’s students (M. Czartoryska, C. Dubois, B. Zaleska, J. Fontana), whom he met during his stay in Paris, and his own pedagogical and piano lessons, as well as being inspired by the tips on musical interpretation included, among others, in the works of H. Schmitt, A. Kullak, M. Lussy, F. Liszt and K. Libelt. He characterised in detail: the rules of phrasing, pedalling, realization of melismas, tempo rubato, and type of musical expression; emphasised simplicity, naturalness and individuality of the style of workmanship. The practical result of studies on the interpretation of Chopin’s music was the development and publication (1882) of 10 volumes of his piano works arranged by genre, including posthumous compositions (reissue of GiW in 1902–03, ed. R. Stroble). Kleczyński based himself directly on the text of the second edition ( 1873) from the Warsaw publishing house GiW, which is a revised version of its previous edition (1863–64). He added variants from K. Mikuli’s edition (Leipzig, F. Kistner 1879), others from written and oral accounts of Chopin’s students, and his own variants of a performance rather than textual nature; Kleczyński’s interpretation suggestions regarding phrasing, fingering, and ornamentation. Compared to two earlier editions of Chopin’s collective works made by his students (T. Tellefsen, Paris 1860; K. Mikuli, Leipzig 1879), Kleczyński’s edition has additional value because the author clearly distinguished in the musical text or commentary what was originally Chopin’s, from what was his or others’ editorial contribution. Kleczyński’s edition is an important document of the nineteenth-century reception of Chopin’s works.

Kleczyński’s dissertations on the problems of teaching piano, methods of working on a piece, and piano work, which he published in EM (1882, 1889) and “Bluszcz” (1875) are also related to piano topics. The works of H. Schmitt and M. Lussy translated by Kleczyński into Polish served teaching and popularisation purposes. The translation of Lussy’s treatise, popular in the 19^th century, included Kleczyński’s abbreviations, comments, polemical footnotes, and examples from the works of Polish composers and Polish folk music. Kleczyński was also the translator of Katechismus der Musik by J.C. Lobe and the author of the Słownik wyrazów używanych w muzyce – small lexicons that contributed to the dissemination of elementary knowledge and musical terminology.

In Kleczyński’s writings, an important place is occupied by numerous articles on the history of music, mainly biographical and style-critical works in which professional knowledge is conveyed in the literary form of expression. Kleczyński presented composers of French opera and operetta, creators of German romantic opera and musical drama, and authors of Polish national opera. He popularised knowledge about contemporary Polish composers (Żeleński, Noskowski, J. Wieniawski, Zarębski, Paderewski and others) and foreign composers (Liszt, Brahms, Tchaikovsky, Saint-Saëns, Grieg, Smetana and Dvořák). From the musical past, he devoted separate articles to the works of Palestrina, Bach, Gluck, Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven. Inspired by T. Chałubiński, he took up the music of Podhale and was the first to publish (since 1883) vocal and instrumental melodies from this region. The harmonisation made by Kleczyński was contrary to the principles already adopted by O. Kolberg, but in the 19^th century, this form of publication served to popularise folk music and sparked interest in Podhale folklore also among composers. Kleczyński’s notes were used by, among others, I. J. Paderewski, K. Szymanowski, and Kolberg himself appreciated Kleczyński’s treatise Melodie zakopiańskie i podhalskie (“Pamiętnik Towarzystwa Tatrzańskiego” 1888), including its contents in his work Góry i Podgórze. In 1867–95, Kleczyński was an active music critic, he wrote reviews of opera and operetta performances, concerts, editions of works and books about music, and pedagogical publications, he discussed the directions of education, the level and results of teaching in Warsaw music schools, and published numerous notes about musical life in Warsaw. He was fascinated by issues of musical performance, with particular insight into the creations of opera singers (including T. Jakowicka, A. Myszuga, W. Mierzwiński, M. Sembrich-Kochańska) and the playing of virtuoso pianists (including K. Tausig, T. Carreño, J. Hofman, J. Śliwiński, A. Michałowski, J. Wieniawski, An. Rubinstein), especially in the Chopin repertoire.

Kleczyński’s aesthetic views stemmed from romantic ideology, and his social attitude as an activist and populariser of musical knowledge was positivistic. Dissertations on the interpretation of Chopin’s works had a significant impact on the reception of his music not only in Poland, but they also provided Kleczyński with a permanent place in global Chopinology, and his journalistic publications are an important source in research on the history of Polish musical culture. Kleczyński was, next to M. Karasowski and A. Sygietyński, the most efficient and competent music publicist of those times.

Kleczyński’s compositional works, mainly vocal lyrics and piano miniatures, are works of a salon nature. Solo songs with piano accompaniment and choral compositions were written to the texts of his contemporary Polish poets, including A. Asnyk, Gabriela (N. Żmichowska), M. Gawalewicz, Z. Kapliński, E. Odyniec, J. Prusinowski and L. Sowiński. He dedicated selected songs and piano compositions to famous artists, including singers F. Cieślewski (Pijak), A. Myszuga (Do słowika), W. Müller-father (Jedna chwila, Op. 12 No. 1), J. Szlezygier (Telegraf), pianist N. Janotha (piano Myśli ulotne Op. 11 ). The recipients of the dedication were also members of the Kleczyński family, singers – the future wife of Kazimiera Dowgiałło, coat of arms Zadora (Dwie piosnki to the words of Gabriela and L. Sowiński), daughter Maria Kleczyńska, pseudonym Maria Zadora (piano Canzonetta), wife of the painter T. Kryszewski, and Władysława Kleczyńska (song Bez niego, lyrics by W. Kleczyńska), wife of his brother, Józef Kleczyński (1841–1900). Kleczyński’s younger son, also Jan (1875–1939), played the piano, was an art critic and writer, temporarily engaged in music criticism (including “Tygodnik Ilustrowany,” “Nowa Gazeta”) and continued his father’s interest in chess, writing about them and taking part in tournaments. The older son, Kazimierz (ca. 1886–1920), a graduate of E. Jaques-Dalcroze’s rhythmic school in Hellerau, taught rhythmic gymnastics at the Dramatic Department of the Warsaw Music Institute (1918–19), as a legionnaire, and died in 1920. 

Literature: S. Jarociński Antologia polskiej krytyki muzycznej XIX i XX w., Kraków 1955 (contains a selection of Kleczyński’s works); D. Pawlak „Góry i Podgórze” Oskara Kolberga, in: O. Kolberg Góry i Podgórze, part 1, ed. Z. Jasiewicz, D. Pawlak, ed. E. Miller, Wrocław-Poznań 1968; J.-J. Eigeldinger Chopin vu par ses élèves, Neuchâtel 1970, Boudry-Neuchâtel 3^rd ed. 1988, English transl. Cambrigde 1986 and 1996, Polish ed. Chopin w oczach swoich uczniów, transl. Z. Skowron, Kraków 2000, 2^nd ed. 2010; M. Woźna Jan Kleczyński — pisarz, pedagog, kompozytor, in: «Szkice o kulturze muzycznej XIX w.», ed. Z. Chechlińska, vol. 3, Warsaw 1976 (contains a chronicle of life and work, a list of works and compositions); M. Woźna O prawach ekspresji muzycznej Mathiasa Lussy’ego, “Pagine” 4 Kraków 1980; L. Polony Polski kształt sporu o istotę muzyki, Kraków 1991; M. Woźna Fortepianowe arabeski, in: Muzyka fortepianowa IX, Gdańsk 1992;  J.-J. Eigeldinger, foreword and source commentary on Frédéric Chopin. Esquisses pour une méthode de piano, Paris 1993, Polish ed. Szkic do metody gry fortepianowej, transl. Z. Skowron, Kraków 1995; T. Wolsza Chopin szachów. Jan Kleczyński (1837-1895), in: Arcymistrzowie, mistrzowie, amatorzy… Słownik biograficzny szachistów polskich, vol. 1, Warsaw 1995; M. Woźna-Stankiewicz Po latach o Janie Kleczyńskim, “Ruch Muzyczny” 1995 No. 25; M. Dziadek Polska krytyka muzyczna w latach 1890–1914. Czasopisma i autorzy, Cieszyn 2002; M. Dziadek Polska krytyka muzyczna w latach 1890–1914. Koncepcje i zagadnienia, Katowice 2002; W. Bońkowski Dziewiętnastowieczne edycje dzieł Fryderyka Chopina jako aspekt historii recepcji, Wrocław 2009; M. Dziadek Chopin w polskiej krytyce muzycznej do I wojny światowej, in: Chopin w krytyce muzycznej (do I wojny światowej). Antologia, ed. I. Poniatowska, Warsaw 2011 (contains fragments of Kleczyński’s texts); M. Dziadek Od szkoły dramatycznej do uniwersytetu. Dzieje wyższej uczelni muzycznej w Warszawie 1810–1944, Warsaw 2011; T. Wolsza Od „Honoratki” do Wierzbowej, Życie szachowe w Warszawie w latach 1829–1939, Warsaw 2020.