The selection of pieces on this album by violinist Mikolaj Zgolka and pianist Piotr Pawlak is intended to show different phases of Henryk Wieniawski's compositional development - from the youthful "Allegro de Sonate", which he wrote together with his brother Joseph and dedicated to Stanislaw Moniuszko, to the late works "Fantaisie Orientale" and "Gigue".

Wieniawski inspired his contemporaries and continues to fascinate today; his oeuvre remains a benchmark for the mastery of violin playing. Thanks to modern advances in technique, equipment and pedagogy, his works are increasingly accessible. Nevertheless, we must not forget the conditions under which Wieniawski worked: he played on gut strings, traveled constantly, met the most influential personalities in Europe, was admired by some and hated by others, competed with ventriloquists and comedians and yet met legends such as Franz Liszt, Charles de Beriot, Richard Wagner, Karol Lipinski and Stanislaw Moniuszko.

Mikolaj Zgolka plays a violin by Raffaele & Antonio Gagliano from Naples from 1839, while Piotr Pawlak plays a Blüthner piano from 1853.

Obertas op. 19 Nr. 1; Kuiawiak; Fantaisie Orientale op. 24; Souvenir de Posen op. 3; Legende op. 17; Gigue op. 23; Fantaisie brillante über Motive aus der Oper "Faust" von Gounod op. 20
+Henri Wieniawski / Josef Wieniawski: Allegro de Sonate op. 2