16 NOTTURNO Ravel and Szymanowski met on many occasions. What about Fauré and Szymanowski? Eva Zavaro: I haven’t found any evidence of a meeting, but it seems obvious that they knew each other by reputation and it’s quite conceivable that their paths crossed. In the 1920s, Szymanowski was beginning to make a name for himself in Paris, and the Société Musicale Indépendante, created to promote French music under the presidency of Fauré, programmed his works too. These two composers, for all their singular identities, had a number of things in common. Their respective studies gave them a solid grounding in early musical styles and counterpoint: the École Niedermeyer for Fauré, working under Zygmunt Noskowski at the Warsaw Conservatory for Szymanowski. They then broke free of this to create their personal styles, following parallel, authentic paths, deeply rooted in the imagination and in poetry, while retaining a firm attachment to classical form and tonality. One finds the same subjects of inspiration in both men. What’s more, their early published compositions were predominantly for voice, and they continued to write songs throughout their lives. Their musical expression bears this lyrical stamp.
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