Antoni Kątski - Grant Funeral March Op. 326 (Dobrzański)

Antoni de Kontski - Marsz żałobny ku czci Ulyssesa Granta 1885 Pianist: Sławomir Dobrzański There is a funny phenomenon in music history in which an extremely prolific composer can compose hundreds of pieces but leave almost no legacy. Despite careers that lead to popularity in their day, such composers can reach total obscurity within fifty years of their deaths. Antoni Kątski (1817-1899) was born into a family surrounded by brilliant musicians. He made his debut at age 4, played alongside Chopin, and received awards from heads of state throughout Europe. His worldwide tours won him a reputation as a virtuoso, and he composed symphonies, opera, concertos, and virtuoso pieces of all kinds. Despite all of this, his work is now in complete obscurity, as there have been almost no recordings of his works until a few years ago. As a composer, his style was shaped by John Field, Sigismond Thalberg, and Simon Sechter, though he would later claim to be the "only living pupil of Beethoven" mostly for publicity's sake. But his musical life also included transcribing folk music, as he was the first musician to translate Azerbaijani folk music into western notation. Perhaps his greatest contribution to music was his efforts in music education. After the November Uprising in 1830-31, the Russian government forcibly closed the Warsaw Conservatory where composers like Chopin and Dobrzyński studied. Kątski reopened the conservatory as the Warsaw Musical Institute in 1861, giving the Polish music world new life. He also reorganized the Lisbon conservatory in Portugal, receiving honors and recognition for his diligence in doing so. While Kątski was a virtuosic showman, his steadfast service to music is indisputable.