Suggestions for an Intermediate Piece by a Polish Composer

November 24, 2025, 5:34 AM · Hi everyone,

Our son (nine year old in his fourth year of learning) needs to play a violin piece by a Polish composer for a competition in Poland.

Could anyone recommend any pieces? My wife started the following list based on recent competitions:

Ewa Iwan-Tarantula; Ewa Iwan-Motyl; Emil Młynarski-Mazur op. 7; Dorota Obijalska, Marcin Wawruk-Łoś Patataj; Dorota Obijalska, Marcin Wawruk-Przedostatni dyliżans; Marceli Popławski-Taniec hiszpański; Marceli Popławski-Mazur B-dur;
E. Swan-Taniec góralski; Henryk Wieniawski-Dudziarz op. 19 nr 2; Paweł Wójtowicz-Etiuda „Zima zła”

And another group

Antoni Cofalik, Janina Garścia-Krakowiak; Piotr Dylewski- Wspomnienie z Hiszpanii; Janina Garścia, Jan Stasica-6 wariacji na temat Panie Janie; Mirosław Gąsieniec-Taniec hiszpański; Ewa Iwan-Wirujący walczyk; Mariusz Matuszewski- Mały czardasz; M. Popławski-Mazur nr 2; Popławski-Polonez;
Paweł Wójtowicz-Taniec amerykański

Apologies in advance about formating.

Looking forward to your collective thoughts!

Replies (5)

Stephen Symchych

Edited: November 24, 2025, 9:37 AM · “Intermediate” is a moving target, especially since your son is already aiming high. If you want something from the 20th century,
Grazyna Bacewicz wrote a lot for violin, some without accompaniment. And a surprising amount on YouTube to sample.
Milstein’s arrangement of the Chopin’s c# minor Nocturne might also work.

Paul Deck

November 24, 2025, 7:09 AM · I don't suppose arrangements of Chopin piano pieces are acceptable? I think there are a few that have been performed with some regularity.

Laura McDermott

November 24, 2025, 8:34 AM · Intermediate covers a lot of ground. Is there a time limit - maximum and minimum?

Bacewicz Concertino may or may not work. It is 3 short movements using 1st - 3rd position. Entire piece is under 6 minutes.

I have two books by Ewa Iwan. Titled something like Journeys in Music book 1 and 2. Tarantella is one of them. It is around 90 seconds. It has been a bit since I have looked at it. I believe it is about the same difficulty level as the Bacewicz.

I would put the BAcewicz roughly around the same level as Vivaldi a minor. I would have to look at the Tarantella to be sure but I think it is around that level also.

I played through all the pieces in the two Journey books when I got them but haven't yet done a lot with them. I recall being surprised at how some of the book 2 pieces were more difficult than I had expected them to be. So if you need a bit more advanced piece there might be something suitable in there.

Her piece Butterfly is in the current ABRSM level 4 which is where I discovered her as a composer.

I have no familiarity with the other composers on the list other than Mynlarski and Wieniawski.

William Helmcke

November 24, 2025, 2:18 PM · Hi everyone,
Thanks for the answers so far. For context of what I meant by intermediate, he just played Rieding Op. 25, mvt. 3 and Wohlfahrt Etude Op. 45 no. 34. The competition regulations are 5 minutes maximum and a piece by a Polish composer, so actually a transcription of a Chopin piece might work, too. I'll keep the thread updated as we go.
Thanks,
-W

Christian Lesniak

November 24, 2025, 3:36 PM · I think any Chopin transcription for violin is already really hard to pull off (my editorial) as it is, but I don't think there's anything that would make sense at your child's level.

Suggestions for an Intermediate Piece by a Polish Composer

Replies (5)

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