---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: maja trochimczyk <[log in to unmask]>

PRESS RELEASE

WINNERS OF 2002 WILK BOOK PRIZES FOR RESEARCH IN POLISH MUSIC

Polish Music Center at the Thornton School of Music, University of
Southern California, has the pleasure to announce the winners of the 2002
Stefan and Wanda Wilk Book Prize. The Wilk Book Prize is divided between
two books ex aequo, both published by British authors in 1997:

*  John Rink: Chopin: The Piano Concertos
(Cambridge, New York: Cambridge University Press, 1997).

*  Adrian Thomas: Gorecki
(Oxford: Clarendon Press; New York: Oxford University Press, 1997).

The Prize consists of $1,000 cash prize for each author (the full amount
is $2,000) and an award certificate in a commemorative wood frame with USC
seal.

The 2002 Competition Jury consisted of:
*  Prof. Maciej Golab, University of Warsaw, Poland;
*  Prof. Stephen Downes, University of Surrey, UK;
*  Dr. Martina Homma, Cologne, Germany;
*  Asst. Prof. Maja Trochimczyk, PMC Director, USC, Los Angeles.

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* John Rink: Chopin: The Piano Concertos. 139 pages with 10-page
introduction, music examples, discography, bibliographical references and
index. Series: Cambridge Music Handbooks; ISBN: 0521441099 (hb);
0521446600 (pb); LC: ML410.C54; Dewey: 784.2/62/092.

Chopin's E minor and F minor Piano Concertos played a vital role in his
career as a composer-pianist. Praised for their originality and genius
when he performed them, the concertos later attracted censure for
ostensible weaknesses in form, development and orchestration. They also
suffered at the hands of editors and performers, all the while remaining
enormously popular. This handbook re-evaluates the concertos against the
traditions that shaped them so that their many outstanding qualities can
be fully appreciated. It describes their genesis, Chopin's own
performances and his use of them as a teacher. A survey of their critical,
editorial and performance histories follows, in preparation for an
analytical 're-enactment' of the music - that is, a narrative account of
the concertos as embodied in sound, rather than in the score. The final
chapter investigates Chopin's enigmatic 'third concerto', the Allegro de
concert. [from the publisher's note]

It is the first such book dedicated to the concertos, which have so far
been examined only in articles and books of more general interest. Rink's
study deals with the genesis of these works showing their relation to the
tradition and genre characteristics; it also gives detailed source
information, summarizes critical response to the Concertos and comments on
their performances available on disc. However, all this is only an
introduction to an analysis of the scores "based on performance-related
criteria" which aims at exploring the formal and tonal structure of the
works and attempts to uncover the reason for the Concerto's enormous
popularity among both pianists and audiences.

[From a review by Wojciech Bonkowski]

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Adrian Thomas: Gorecki. 187 pages with 18-page introduction;
illustrations, 1 map, detailed list of works, bibliographical references,
and index. Series: Oxford Studies of Composers; ISBN: 0198163932 (cloth);
0198163940 (pbk.). LC: ML410.G6448; Dewey: 780/.92.

Gorecki, the culmination of Thomas's years of thorough, meticulous, and
engaging research, provides a necessary foundation on which present and
future scholars can build. This source-book surveys all of Gorecki's
works, adding background and biographical details where appropriate. But
its appeal is such that any reader -- musician or not, scholar or amateur
-- will benefit from Thomas's insights, learn from his observations, and,
like the author, come to respect the music of this acclaimed composer on
its own terms. Thomas assumes a readership that is fluent in music
history, terminology and notation. He includes numerous score examples,
often to illustrate the text but occasionally to replace it. The discourse
strikes a balance between expressive interpretation and technical
description. His discovery of extremely subtle allusions in Gorecki's
music -- a chord drawn from Chopin, a melodic gesture from Szymanowski, or
a note or timbre from Beethoven -- and his subsequent explication of their
import should spur others to delve deeper in the music, rather than merely
being satisfied with the intriguing surface qualities. [From a review by
Luke Howard]

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The creators and sponsors of the Wilk Prizes, Dr. Stefan Wilk
(radiologist) and Mrs. Wanda Wilk (M.M., music education, USC), initiated
the competition for best essays on Polish music written in English by a
non-Polish author in 1982.  The competition is intended to stimulate
research on Polish music in academic circles outside of Poland. The
winners include such experts in Polish music as Stephen Downes, Jeffrey
Kallberg, Martina Homma, Anne McNamee, Barbara Milewski, James Parakilas,
Sandra Rosenblum, and others. The prizes are awarded in two independent
competitions, each held biennially (in different years):

* Wilk Essay Prizes for Research in Polish Music (yearly till 1999, since
then held in odd years; essays published online in the Polish Music
Journal) and

* Wilk Book Prizes for Research in Polish Music (even years, starting in
2000).

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For more information contact the Polish Music Center at:
Dr. Maja Trochimczyk, S. & W. Wilk Director
Polish Music Center, Thornton School of Music
University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA 90089-0851, USA
http://www.usc.edu/dept/polish_music
[log in to unmask]
tel: +1-213-740-9369 or +1-213-821-1356