Poldowski

“Poldowski” was the pseudonym of Irène Régine Wieniawska, the youngest daughter of the violinist and composer Henryk Wieniawski. Her composing style is melodic, focused, sensual and energetic, outstanding for its deliciously inventive harmonic colours. Born in Brussels in 1879, she grew up in London after her father died while she was still an infant. She studied in Paris with Vincent d’Indy and André Gedalge, then in 1901 married Sir Aubrey Dean Paul, an English aristocrat and ambassador. She achieved a good amount of recognition, championed by performers including the London Chamber Orchestra and the tenor Gervase Elwes, who introduced some of her songs to London in 1912. Although her personal life was beset by tragedy, including the death in infancy of her first son, she remained a society figure in 1920s London, meeting George Gershwin and Peter Warlock, among others, and founding her own boutique. Poldowski’s many songs, including a particularly striking setting of Verlaine’s “L’heure exquise”, can compete favourably with any of her French contemporaries. Her chamber music, too, has gained ground as her works have been belatedly rediscovered.