Search - Andrzej Panufnik, New York Chamber Symphony, Amsterdam Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra :: Panufnik: Sinfonia Sacra; Arbor Cosmica

Andrzej Panufnik (b. 1914) is one of Poland's greatest composers of symphonies. His music has ranged across most of the fads of tonality and atonality of this century, but at the heart of it is a powerful sense of unity. His Sinfonia Sacra (1963) is, so far, his masterpiece. It's a mix of strong nationalism and Christian mysticism. It also begins and ends with the most incredible brass choirs you'll ever hear. His Arbor Cosmica, or The Cosmic Tree, (1983) is a loose twelve-tone work for twelve strings- -it's completely different from Sinfonia Sacra, but it also represents Panufnik's range of inventiveness. --Paul Cook