“I admire very much the modern Russian music which, in my opinion, began with Rimsky-Korsakoff. Scriabine and Stravinsky seem to me to represent the best of the contemporary school especially the latter in his pieces for the theater, although they are somewhat drastic at times. When I say they represent the best, I mean in my opinion. I do not say that many of the other Russian composers are not doing magnificent work.

“Personally, I feel a revolution in my own music. One can’t help it. Imagine if your nation had been in what is practically a serfdom for nearly a century and suddenly became free. Could there be any phase of life in the country that would not be affected? I hardly think so. All sorts of values have been inverted. We had a deep respect for German things of all sorts. The war opened our eyes.

“One curious thing about the social rearrangement in Poland is that the aristocracy is the most democratic class there. There is no spirit of pessimism. The people have suffered much from hunger and cold but they are optimistic in spite of all.”

Warsaw Opera Reborn

“What about the Warsaw opera? Is it still in existence?”

“Oh, yes! Very much so! And it has vastly improved under the direction of Emil Mlynarski. He is not only a splendid conductor but a most able artistic director and he has been hard at work for several years now, raising the level of the performances in every way. The personnel of the opera house is entirely Polish, and there are many fine singers. That is another point gained since our freedom from Russian domination. Previously, all productions were restricted in Warsaw. Certain operas could not be given at all and others had to have arbitrary cuts made according to orders from Petrograd. Our dramatic theaters too, have now taken on a new lease of life. We have many good actors and dramatic authors, all of whom are hard at work. An individual type of stage-setting has also come into existence. I hope you may some time have the opportunity of seeing some of these settings here, for they are most interesting.”

“But about yourself and your work?”

“What shall I tell you? Does it interest you that I was born in Timochevka in 1883 and that I studied in Warsaw with Noskowski and afterwards in Germany. One had to in those days. Then, before the war I was in Vienna. I have composed already one opera and am at work on a second. The completed one is called ‘Hagith’ and is founded on a Biblical subject. It has not yet been performed but I expect it to be very soon. The other is also well advanced, but I would rather not talk about that. Then I have done numerous songs and violin pieces. I am very fond of the violin and although I do not play it myself, I understand it. Then there are my three symphonies. The third one, for orchestra and chorus, was played by Albert Coates in London. It is called ‘The Night.’ My second symphony I hope to have done in this country next season. In Paris last winter, my Fantaisie in C for Piano was played by Lalewicz and was well received. The critics or rather, one of the critics said that it was ‘a work of great strength in which the composer seems obsessed with the idea of transcribing for the piano the most violent accents of all other instruments and even to unloose on the keyboard the elements of Nature. Persistence of psychological preoccupation prevents the work from losing its cohesion!’ Now, do you think that is a compliment or not? I can’t decide. But it does seem as though they had how do you say it in America?—‘sat up and taken notice!’

“There are also piano sonatas and a concert overture for orchestra and—oh, I don’t know, quite a lot of things. I may give some concerts when I come back next year. In fact, I hope to do so because not only do I want to put my own works before the American public but also those of a number of other Polish composers who should be better known here. No, I do not expect to give a concert this visit, but I shall be back. America interests me and although I have had a very flattering offer from a European university I don’t know whether I shall accept it or not.” —J. A. H.