Kochański, Paweł (EN)

Kochański Paweł, *30 August (11 September) 1884 Oryol (Russia), †12 January 1934 New York, Polish violinist born into a Jewish family as Fajwel Kaganow; baptised in Ilguva, he received the name Paweł and the surname Kochański, his godparents were Emil Młynarski and Anna Hryncewicz. In 1894, he began learning to play the violin with E. Młynarski at the school of the Russian Musical Society in Odessa. In 1898, he moved to Warsaw, where his first public performance took place, enthusiastically received by listeners and critics. In the newly established Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra, Kochański sat next to the first violinist. In 1903 – after a 4-month master class in Brussels (1^st prize with the highest distinction) under the direction of C. Thomson – he set off on a concert tour, the route of which led from Antwerp through Liège, Paris, Spain, and Portugal to Egypt and Turkey. In his posthumous memoir about Kochański in 1934, Młynarski mentioned in general terms that the young violinist “spent some time temporarily in Warsaw, where he took up the position of professor of violin playing.” Perhaps Młynarski, taking advantage of the prerogatives of the director of the Institute of Music, tried to protect Kochański, who had just turned 22, from the impending draft into the army in the revolutionary year of 1906, and entered him on the list of teachers. The Institute was a licensed and subsidised school by the Russian authorities, and the men employed there enjoyed the privilege of exemption from military service. The references in the literature that Kochański was a teacher at the Warsaw Institute of Music in 1907 and 1909 have not been confirmed by the current state of research (M. Dziadek, E. Szczepańska-Lange).

In 1909, Kochański went on a concert tour to Berlin, Leipzig and Vienna, in 1912, to Glasgow, Edinburgh and London, and in 1913, he performed in St. Petersburg. After the outbreak of World War I, in the winter of 1914, he left for Russia; in 1914– 15, he stayed at the estate of Józef Jaroszyński (from whom he received a violin by A. Stradivari), in the Szymanowski’s Tymoszówka and in Kiev, where he gave concerts. He spent the years 1916–18 in St. Petersburg, lecturing at the local conservatory, becoming a professor there in 1917. At the same time, he gave many concerts (with H. Neuhaus, A. Siloti and A. Glazunov, with whom in 1918, he went on a long tour of the cities of the Volga region). Kochański became the favourite of the musical St. Petersburg. He became friends with S. Prokofiev, who was writing the Violin Concerto, making extensive use of his advice and guidance (Kochański was to be the first performer of the Concerto in 1917, but he played it only six years later in New York, ensuring the work’s great success). In the autumn of 1918, Kochański moved to Kiev; within a few months, he gave almost 90 concerts. At the end of 1919. he returned to Warsaw. He gave concerts there, in Kraków and Lviv, and was warmly received. He left Poland in May 1920; after a short stay in Paris, London and Brussels, he went on his first trip to the United States in January 1921. His debut in New York (February 1921) was a dazzling success; Kochański received an engagement to give concerts throughout the United States and an offer to take up a violin class at the Juilliard Graduate School in New York. In 1924, he settled in New York permanently. His home became a lively centre of artistic life. From then on, he gave concerts in the United States, South American countries and Europe; he played before high auditoriums and at royal courts. In 1927, he received the Officer’s Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta, and in 1933 – the French ribbon of the Knight of the Order of the Legion of Honor.

Kochański continued the great tradition of Polish violin playing as a successor to K. Lipiński and H. Wieniawski. Already in his early youth, he achieved a high degree of technical mastery and developed individual playing features, about which E. Młynarski said that “they always amazed connoisseurs. His left hand was fabulously light, his fingers had elasticity and, at the same time, incredible firmness. Kochański could, for example, play sixteenth-note scales at a fast tempo not only in octaves, thirds, fifths and tenths (many virtuosos can do this) but also in fourths! I have never heard this before. He achieved bow effects with incomparable ease. How wonderful was his staccato. I heard at least 40 notes taken with one bow at the bow frog. He was able to play the entire scale from an empty G all the way down to G3 with one bow, using at most half a bow. This extraordinary mastery of the bow distinguished Kochański even from among the greatest virtuosos” (“Music” 1934 No. 2). People were delighted with the melodiousness and softness of his tone, the richness of its shades, the masterful command of colouristic and dynamic means (an enormous variety of shades in piano). In his posthumous memoir, Szymanowski wrote: “I claim with full conviction that he was the greatest, most profound musician among today’s excellent violinists. This attitude of his – conscious, full of reflection, and at the same time enthusiastic towards the very issue of music – completely defined the style of his playing. The enormous technique, the extraordinary richness and the specific charm of sound were only a path leading always to one goal – to the revelation of the unique beauty hidden in a musical piece. The authenticity of his interpretation, which somehow destroyed all doubts about the author’s essential intentions, imposed itself on the listeners with irresistible force […]. The greatest enthusiasts of Kochański’s playing were, above all, outstanding musicians and composers with the most famous names, such as Ravel, Stravinsky, Falla, Prokofiev and many, many others […]. Kochański, […] with perseverance and special clairvoyance, sought new paths, new possibilities. There is no doubt in my mind that he played a huge and unforgettable role in the evolution of contemporary violin music” (“Wiadomości Literackie” 1934 No. 5).

Kochański collaborated on the creation of violin works by Prokofiev and Stravinsky (impressed by Kochański’s performance of the Italian Suite in 1926, Stravinsky gave the violinist the exclusive right to perform this work for two years). An exceptional case of artistic symbiosis were Szymanowski’s violin works. “[…] Pawełek and I,” wrote Szymanowski, “created a new style in Myths and the Violin Concerto, a new expression of violin playing, an epochal piece in this respect. All pieces by other composers approaching this style […] were written later, i.e. either under the direct influence of Myths and the Concerto, or with Pawełek’s direct participation” (K. Szymanowski to Z. Kochańska, 5 March 1930, in: Dzieje przyjaźni). Kochański’s repertoire was wide, encompassing practically the entire violin literature from early to the latest pieces; however, he considered J.S. Bach, Beethoven and Brahms to be giants of the violin. He played concertos with an orchestra, solo pieces, and composed chamber music (including with H. Neuhaus, A. Rubinstein, G. Piatigorsky, P. Casals, J. Thibaud). According to the unanimous reports of critics and listeners, Kochański’s playing was distinguished by perfect purity of style. The special recognition that Kochański’s creative playing enjoyed is evidenced by numerous works dedicated to him (and often written or transcribed especially for him). A. Bax dedicated to Kochański Sonata No. 1 for violin and piano (1910, revised 1915), A. Glazunov the Mazurka Oberek in D major for violin and orchestra (1917), B. Fairchild Rhapsodie pour violon et piano (1924), S. Prokofiev Five Melodies Op. 35 bis, I. Stravinsky Prélude et Ronde des Princesses and Berceuse, which was a transcription from The Firebird (published 1929), and K. Szymanowski both violin concertos.

Literature: Paweł Kochański, “Młoda Muzyka” from 15 December 1909; D. Jarmel The Field for Violinists, “The Musical Digest” from 13 March 1923, New York (interview with Kochański); W.P. Tryon Of Modern Violin Music, “The Christian Science Monitor” from 22 November 1924, Boston (interview with Kochański); E. Młynarski Wspomnienie o Pawle Kochańskim, “Świat” 1934 No. 3 and Paweł Kochański, człowiek i artysta, “Muzyka” 1934 No. 2; Pamięci Pawła Kochańskiego, “Wiadomości Literackie” 1934 No. 5 (memories and statements of J. Ciechanowiecki, J. Lechoń, E. Młynarski, R. Ordyński, A. Słonimski, K. Szymanowski, K. Wierzyński); J. Maklakiewicz Po zgonie śp. Pawła Kochańskiego, “Kurier Poranny” 1934 No. 18; M. Józefowicz Paweł Kochański (wspomnienie osobiste), “Słowo” (Vilnius) from 26 January 1934 No. 24; I. Jampolski Paweł Kochański, “Sowietskaja Muzyka” 1959 No. 7 and Paweł Kochański w Rosji, in: Polsko-rosyjskie miscellanea muzyczne, ed. Z. Lissa, Kraków 1967, also in: Mastierstwo muzykanta-ispołnitiela, Moscow 1975; Dzieje przyjaźni. Korespondencja Karola Szymanowskiego z Pawłem i Zofią Kochańskimi, ed. T. Chylińska, Kraków 1971; A. Rubinstein My Young Years, London 1973, Polish ed. Moje młode lata, transl. T. Szafar, Kraków 1976, and My Many Years, London 1980, Polish ed. Moje długie życie, transl. L. Kydryński, Kraków 1988; M. Szarnowska Paweł Kochański. Kompozytor i współtwórca utworów skrzypcowych Karola Szymanowskiego, “Ruch Muzyczny” 28 December 1997 No. 26; M. Sarnawska Paweł Kochański w kręgu artystów swojej epoki, “Ruch Muzyczny” 22 March 1998 No. 6; T. Chylińska Karol Szymanowski i jego epoka, Kraków 2008; A. M. Barbara W sprawie daty urodzin Pawła Kochańskiego, “Muzyka” 2017 No. 4; E. Szczepańska-Lange Nowe źródła do biografii Pawła Kochańskiego, “Muzyka” 2017 No. 4; K. Michałowski, T. Chylińska Karol Szymanowski. Katalog tematyczny, Kraków 2023.