Jozef Nowakowski (1800-1865) was born in the Polish town of Mniszek located about 60 miles south of Warsaw. He initially studied with his uncle before attending the Warsaw Conservatory where his main teacher was Jozef Elsner. He pursued a career as composer, teacher and touring piano soloist. A good friend of Chopin, he visited Paris during his travels but mostly stayed in Warsaw. He was, during his lifetime, considered one of Poland's leading musicians and his compositions were often played.
The Piano Quintet in E flat Major dates from 1833 and was dedicated to Nicholas I, Tsar of Russia and King of Congress Poland. It was published in 1841 and by 1900 was considered lost. However, in 2003 the parts were discovered in the Staatsbibliothek of Berlin. In four movements, the work opens with a lilting Allegro vivace in which the strings have long-lined melodies against moving passages in the piano. Next comes an exciting scherzo, Presto vivace, with a soft meditative trio section. The lovely third movement, Andante, is subtitled Romance. The upbeat finale, Rondo, allegro, is a bouncing horse ride across the countryside.
We have reprinted the original 1841 edition which is virtually in pristine condition, easy to read and play off of. It should be noted however that the piano part is just that and not a piano score which was typical for the time. If your group is playing the Schubert "Trout" Quintet for piano, violin, viola, cello and bass and you are looking for other works for the evening, you may wish to consider the Piano Quintet in E flat Major by Jozef Nowakowski.